road trip in a truck

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6 Great Trucks For Summer Road Trips

Are pickups good for road t rips? Absolutely. They can carry all your stuff and tow a trailer or a boat, too. Modern trucks can also be ordered as luxury trucks that offer many of the options that any SUV can have. But what makes these trucks great are their open beds for hauling the stuff that you’ll likely pick up on a road trip, whether that’s a load of antiques or stinky fish from the lake.

With all of these trucks you can order most of the driver safety aids that you’d expect in a sedan. But you’ll get tough suspension, cargo-hauling capabilities, and depending on the truck, off-road abilities. Your next summer road trip could be an off-road trip.

The Ford F-150 Hybrid

The most powerful F-150 is also the most fuel-efficient. The new hybrid gets up to 26 mpg on the highway while packing 430 horsepower. With the F-150 you can get Ford’s SYNC 4 tied to a 12-inch touchscreen. And, with the hybrid, you can get Pro Power Onboard that allows you to run a variety of electrical goodies once you reach your campsite. It also has the most legroom of any full-size truck, at 43.6 inches. Too bad the 2022s are sold out .

Toyota Tundra i-FORCE MAX

In Toyota-speak, the MAX means hybrid for the Tundra full-size truck. Like the Ford, it gets better gas mileage than its non-hybrid version and makes more horsepower. While the Toyota doesn’t quite get Ford gas mileage, at 22 mpg combined, it is a big truck that’s comfortable on the highway with a 10-speed transmission and a whopping 41.6 inches of rear-seat legroom. The Tundra was completely redesigned for 2022. In 1794 trim it can be a luxurious beast that’s great for your next road trip.

Ford Maverick

Sure, the Maverick is smaller. But that doesn’t mean that it skimps on comfort or practicality. The Maverick is built on a unibody, like a car, and rides more like a car than a body-on-frame truck, which we know is a bonus on a long road trip. Another bonus of the Maverick is that it gets great gas mileage, topping 40 mpg with the hybrid, and 29 for the turbocharged four-cylinder. It can be optioned to tow up to 4,000 pounds, which is plenty of capacity for a small camping trailer .

Hyundai Santa Cruz

Like the Maverick, the Santa Cruz is built on a car chassis. It drives more like a car than a truck, and it, too, gets good mileage which makes it great for a road trip. It’s not a Maverick, but 28 mpg isn’t too bad. It’s a small truck, though, and only has 36.5 inches of rear-seat legroom. But the SEL Premium version can tow up to 5,000 pounds with the all-wheel drive package. The Santa Cruz is based on Hyundai’s Tucson SUV, which means that it drives and performs a lot like that SUV, but with a convenient open bed.

Honda Ridgeline RTL

The 2022 Ridgeline may not do all the big truck stuff that an F-150 or a Ram 1500 might do, but it’s more than capable enough to tow and haul most of what you want. The Ridgeline is built off the Honda Pilot platform, which means that it drives a lot like that SUV with a bed. The Honda’s 280-horsepower V6 has plenty of power, yet still gets an estimated 24 mpg combined. It can tow 5,000 pounds. It has 36.7 inches of rear-seat legroom. All Ridgelines get all-wheel drive as standard, as well as a built-in trunk in the bed .

The Ram 1500 base truck is designed to be a work truck. If you’re planning to hit the open road this summer check out the upgraded Big Horn or Laramie versions that come with a massive 12-inch touchscreen, soft-touch materials in the interior, and the lockable Ram Box storage in the bed. The Ram may be a big brut of a truck, but it can do double duty as a luxury vehicle that tow your boat or giant trailer at the same time.

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Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.

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How To Prepare Your Vehicle For An Epic Road Trip

Planning a road trip should be an enjoyable process, however, choosing destinations, booking hotels, planning activities can easily overwhelm even the most organized traveler. But with a little forethought, the results can be epic. That’s especially true during a global pandemic when America’s roadways are the most popular means of travel.

According to a survey conducted by Chevrolet and research firm Harris Poll, 80% of those polled said that going on a road trip has been one of their happiest moments since March. Forty-one percent said they road-tripped to a place they’ve never been before, which underlines an important element that often is left out of the planning process: preparing the family vehicle.

Even the most detailed travel itinerary won’t save a vehicle from a lack of routine maintenance, so it’s crucial to ensure that routine and other preparatory maintenance procedures are performed before setting out for an adventure.

Ideally, vehicle maintenance is a 24/7 proposition, but it is particularly important before a long road trip, especially in the heat of summer and to unfamiliar destinations off the beaten path. Though visiting family and friends has been the number one destination for coronavirus-motivated road trips, as reported by Harris Poll, beach, hiking fishing and national Park exploration rounded out the top five.

No matter the destination, take care in readying the vehicle that will get you there—and back. Here are some of the best ways to prepare a vehicle for a summer road trip.

Maintain Tires

Tires are the only part of a vehicle that are in direct contact with the road, so extra care is needed to ensure they are correctly inflated, display even treadwear, are free from any obvious defects and are of the size and type specified by the manufacturer.

Key considerations for tire maintenance include:

• Air pressure : The specific air pressure required by a vehicle’s tires is found on a small label attached to the inside of the driver’s door jamb. The temperatures listed are usually stated as being “cold temperatures,” which means that tire pressure should be checked before the vehicle has been driven for any length of time. Tire pressures should be checked at least every 1000 miles. If the vehicle is heavily loaded, towing a trailer, or kept on the road for extended periods of travel, the tires should, at a minimum, be checked visually at every stop. It’s a good idea to keep an air pressure gauge in the glove box of your vehicle.
• Rotation : Vehicles come in a variety of drive-wheel configurations, including front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. The wheels that receive power wear tires more quickly than non-drive-wheel tires. This is especially true for performance vehicles, where wheel spin and hard cornering are part of the norm. Additionally, worn or loose steering components can promote the uneven wear of the front tires. Rotating tires moves them front-to-back or side-to-side, promoting even wear. (The proper rotation pattern for your car is located in the owners manual.) This service should be performed every 5,000 to 8,000 miles or sooner if uneven wear is observed. Many shops include tire rotation in the price of their oil change specials.
• Condition : Bulges, gouges, and other visually observable damage should be inspected by a professional to ensure that the tire’s structural integrity isn’t compromised. Even a minor impact from a pothole or curb can damage a tire. Visual cues, such as uneven tread wear and odd wear patterns on other parts of the tire are an indication that a checkup is overdue.

Check Fluids

Maintaining a vehicle’s fluids is an essential step toward ensuring that a summer road trip goes off without a hitch. While motor oil is sometimes referred to as the lifeblood of an engine, modern vehicles use a variety of specialized fluids vital to your vehicle’s operation and longevity.

• Transmission fluid : Many new vehicles come with sealed transmissions that don’t allow for easy checking or topping off of the fluid, but it’s still important to understand the role transmission fluid, or oil, plays in its operation. Depending on the vehicle, the transmission may have a service interval of up to 100,000 miles and require special equipment to replace it. A good rule of thumb for vehicles equipped with a traditional dipstick should be to check the fluid regularly and replace it according to the specifications outlined in your owners manual. Old fluid can accumulate dirt and debris and dramatically reduce your transmission’s performance and lifespan and burnt fluid can indicate severe wear of the internal components. Automatic transmissions can be finicky, so if you have any doubts, see your dealer or a qualified independent mechanic.
• Power steering fluid : While electric and electrically-assisted power steering systems become more common every day, plenty of vehicles still utilize hydraulic power steering systems. These power steering systems use a fluid that can become contaminated over time, hampering performance and possibly causing leaks or damage to the system components. The fluid reservoir is generally located in an easily accessible location under the hood, making it easy to check each time vehicle’s engine oil is changed.
• Brake fluid : Braking systems use fluid to build hydraulic pressure to force the calipers to clamp the brake pads down onto the rotors. If the brake pedal starts to feel spongy or soft, air may have accumulated in the brake lines, which can require a service to bleed the lines. Brake fluid also gets contaminated and can absorb moisture, both of which can reduce performance. Service should be performed according to the service intervals outlined in your owner’s manual or approximately every 24,000 miles in everyday use. Your dealer or local shop can advise you on the best plan of action if you notice reduced braking performance.

• Engine oil : Checking a vehicle’s engine oil is one of the most critical and easy to check maintenance items for an owner to perform. Some new vehicles come with a factory oil-change interval of up to 10,000 miles, but the oil should still be checked at least every 1,000 to 3,000 miles. Modern engine oil contains a number of additives that enhance lubrication properties and help to keep the oiling system clean, and over time they can become depleted. An unprecedented loss or consumption of oil could indicate more significant problems. The owner’s manual will define the type of oil to be used and how often it should be changed. And if you’re doing it yourself, don’t forget to pick up a new filter too.
• Coolant : Often referred to as anti-freeze, engine coolant is nearly as vital as motor oil. Coolant not only keeps engine temps down in the summer but helps the engine maintain the optimum operating temperature in cold climates as well as providing heat for the passengers. Low coolant can cause overheating, especially in hot weather with a fully-loaded vehicle. Like motor oil, coolant is fortified with additives that enhance performance and inhibit corrosion. Most vehicles have a transparent “overflow” tank under the hood that allows for visual inspection of the coolant level. CAUTION: Never attempt to check engine coolant on a hot or warm vehicle. If you suspect the coolant is low or compromised, see a qualified service professional.
• Windshield wiper fluid : Summer road trips offer several opportunities for bugs to smash into the windshield, and while it isn’t perfect, the vehicle’s windshield washer provides the only way to clean them off without making a time-consuming pit stop. Most vehicles have a warning light that indicates the windshield washer fluid level is low, but the fluid reservoir should be located in an easily visible place under the hood to allow for easy checks.

Keep Up With Routine Maintenance

Fluids are essential, but they are far from the only vehicle maintenance consideration. The following should be performed regularly, but are especially important before a long road trip:

• Air filters : Most vehicles have two types of air filters. The engine air filter provides debris-free air to the engine, and the cabin air filter filters the incoming air to the passenger compartment. For the vehicle to perform as intended and for the people inside it to breathe freely, the vehicle’s air filters need to be replaced regularly. The engine air filter and cabin filters should be replaced according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Barring that, every 10,000 to 15,000 miles is a good rule of thumb.
• Belts and Hoses : Gone are the days when an average vehicle relied on three, four, or more individual belts to power all the accessories. Although there are exceptions, manufacturers now employ a single ribbed serpentine belt to drive the alternator, air conditioning compressor, water pump and other accessories whenever possible. Still, the belts wear and a quick visual inspection will reveal any cracks or fraying. While you’re at it, give the hoses a quick view noting any cracking sings of leakage at junction points.
• Lighting : A vehicle’s headlights are an obvious source of light, but there are multiple bulbs inside the cabin that may occasionally need checking and replacement. There is nothing more irritating than trying to use an interior light after dark, only to find out that it has burned out. These are generally easy to replace, and most auto parts stores carry a wide variety of replacements saving you trip to the dealer.

Clean the Vehicle

Driving a clean vehicle doesn’t just make for a more pleasant experience behind the wheel; it can add up to a fuel economy penalty if there is enough added weight. In addition to a full vacuum and exterior wash, make sure to remove all the excess baggage—athletic equipment, laundry and the rest of the daily detritus—to remove any extra weight. As a side bonus, it will clear room for luggage and other items required for the road trip. Plus, the psychological benefits of hitting the road in a clean, well-organized machine will make the trip even better.

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Why You Should Road Trip in a Truck

There is a certain set of cars that naturally fall into the category of road trip vehicle, in the public’s eye.

By Chris Wright

13 original photos

The north entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia is an innocuous on-ramp. Atop the low, steadily rising spine of the ridge, the route begins humbly, a two-lane road that bumbles along for a half mile or so, wending like the path of a snake without a purpose through a fresh sea of green. Then suddenly the trees on the left fall away to reveal a sweeping view of Blue Ridge National Park, and something special happens. Your blood pressure drops, your foot eases off the pedal, and you pull your vehicle onto the first of many scenic lookout points, in spite of time constraints and the looming shadow of many miles to go before you sleep. Time drips by as you step outside, shut the door and place yourself within an enormous valley panorama. You feel, for the first time on your American road trip , like a traveler, an explorer of sights too rarely seen, like someone who’s left the jarring cares of the workday world behind.

You also feel the brutal soreness of your ass.

This is but one of the many conflicting themes of the road trip. Grinding toward your destination is exhilarating until it’s exhausting. Too much coffee jazzes you up, then drops you. The one-pump, dirt-road service station with a bathroom is a savior, until it dawns on you that the handwritten signs for socks, lightbulbs and clearly pre-used glassware indicate some sort of twisted backwoods tourist trap you might not escape alive. And finally, and most obviously: the road itself is your destination, and your vehicle is not just a tool but also a traveling partner.

That can be either transcendental or disastrous, depending on the vehicle, which means there are considered, stringent requirements for a car to qualify as a road trip car. Those requirements are, roughly: gas mileage, comfort, space, dependability.

There is a certain set of cars that naturally fall into this category, in the public’s eye. None of those tend to be pickup trucks, which are associated more with cowboys than with unbathed hippie youth cycling their way from sleep in the backseat to wide-eyed driving in the front. So, on a nine-day trip from New York, to Philly, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to Charleston, to Savannah, and back again — 2,002 miles, round trip — the choice of a bright red 2015 Chevrolet Colorado pickup with a Z71 off-road package seemed an unconventional choice. The truck made me anxious. GP didn’t include a pickup truck in its list of best road trip cars ; I worried about bags flying out of the bed at high speed and low miles per gallon on a tight budget; my girlfriend, Rachel, stressed about driving a hulking beast.

A little bit more about the Colorado: it is one of the only mid-sized pickups left in the US. It starts at just above $20k, not bad for Motor Trend ‘s 2015 Truck of the Year. GP had already reviewed the Colorado and given it the all-around thumbs up. It was for these reasons that I was assigned to test it on my road trip.

A little bit more about road tripping in trucks, in the public eye: it has been little done. Hemingway did it, in a way, in Green Hills of Africa , though his was open topped and standard for traveling in Africa. Steinbeck did it in a camper-modified GMC pickup in Travels With Charley ; he named it “Rocinante”, after Don Quixote’s horse. (Consequently, we called our truck “Chevy the Chevy”, which sounds better off the page, and though more infantile than Steinbeck’s choice of name, carried the same set of emotions: companionship, dependence, a seal of importance.) Off the top of the cultural head, that’s about it.

This lack of precedence added up to a lot of stress about how the pickup life would transfer to the long-distance road-trip life. But then there we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway, cruising into the second scenic overlook, feeling good, feeling mobile, not worrying. A guy in a beefed-up Jeep saw us taking pictures and stopped to ask if we were selling the truck. “I work at a rental agency,” he said. “That new model is way better looking than the old one. They did good this time around.” And then, with a cool guy’s wry smile: “I’ll still take my Jeep, though.” He drove off in a cloud of dust, and we jumped back in too, chests puffed up with pride about our dapper ride. And we had doors, anyway. The rest of the Parkway slid underneath us like we were on rails.

Six hours later, the first thing we saw at our Great Smoky Mountains National Park campsite was a notice tacked to the empty rangers’ station that read: “Warning: Camp Site #27 has been closed due to aggressive bear activity.”

Here’s something you don’t worry about every day: there are two bears per square mile in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park , and they would love nothing more than for you to leave your stocked cooler in the open bed of your truck. I had never thought of this problem while planning the trip, but I decided not to take it lightly. This proved wise. Five days after we left, a young male camper was attacked while lounging in a hammock.

The Journey

Total Distance: 2,002 miles Days: 10 Brook Trout Caught: 1 Bears Seen: 2 Southern Craft Beers Consumed: Innumerable Comfort Food Consumed: Immeasurable Times Called “Yankee”: 2 Days Spent Regretting the Drive: 0

That night, at around 1:30, after we’d finished setting up our campsite in the bright headlights of the truck, we jockeyed gear around into the back and slid the cooler into the passenger seat. It fit, to my surprise, with plenty of room. The rear seats provided enough space for all of our gear and dry food items, which was a lot; though a sort of Mary Poppins’s purse situation developed where I would dive shoulder-deep through towels, tea kettles and jars of peanut butter in order to find what I was looking for, this worked in that we foiled the trifling and altogether terrifying bears. It was a great victory for one of the truck’s great downsides, and we celebrated appropriately: by going the hell to sleep.

There were other Colorado-specific problems to overcome as the trip progressed, and we and the truck overcame them. The acceleration was dodgy on on-ramps (but it’s a truck, after all). Gas mileage never got above 21 mpg (but gas is cheap in the South). The Colorado does not come with a CD player, which was a grave disappointment to my girlfriend’s dad, who’d curated an entire box of CDs for us to jam to. We were disappointed, too — and downright angry, when the Bluetooth player forced on us acted up. (On the plus side, the Bose speaker system was so loud it damaged my eardrums on the 14-hour drive south.)

But sometimes, you live with the fact that things are what they are. Or, as Steinbeck wrote, when his ride Rocinante flatted a tire, with a sour touch of literary flair: “It was obvious that the other tire might go at any minute, and it was Sunday and it was raining and it was Oregon.” This humdrum run-on might seem a copout, but in reality it is a vital part of the road trip. There are no wrong turns if you simply go with the flow and work with where the road takes you, and with the truck, a vehicle designed for changing plans at a moment’s notice (“Oh, we need to haul ‘X’ big thing? Throw it in the back!”), that always felt easy.

The other side of the coin was filled with reasons to love this truck and its place in the long-distance traveling game. It handled like a lithe family sedan on tortuous back roads, and my girlfriend, who originally worried about driving something so big, handled the curviest road of the trip with ease. On long highway hauls the combination of the Z71 suspension package and bucket seats kept us loose. This is all part of a shift in the modern truck from outdoorsman’s tool to a jack-of-all-trades hauler, which wasn’t lost on us. The infotainment system did its job well, and all manner of ports and docks kept our beloved personal tech alive. Then there were the truly little things, which provided some of our most contented moments: like how its center console was perfectly deep enough to hold a DSLR ; or how the Talking Heads and Mika blasted so beautifully our own personal driving soliloquies from its speakers; or just the cathartic release of piling camping gear deep in the bed, which ate all of our gear so readily that we never felt overpacked, though we were.

There are no wrong turns if you simply go with the flow and work with where the road takes you, and with the truck, a vehicle designed for changing plans at a moment’s notice, that always felt easy.

All the while we were reminded that though our modern sense of distance has been torched — a morning commute lasts roughly a podcast; a walk to the coffee shop disappears in an email response; a flight from Scotland to New York is almost exactly 3.5 in-flight films long — the trials and tribulations of road tripping still exist, somewhere between episodes of RadioLab and getting lost in the Virginia backwoods. Savannah to Philadelphia to New York is every inch of 814 miles, and it remains that the only way you develop a true understanding of a region is to empty a car’s tank on its roads a half dozen times and take what problems may come with a tough-guy grin. The road taught us this, and also to love the discoveries our trials uncovered: native brook trout in sunny pools and the absurd labels found at fireworks stores; empty trails through the temperate rainforests of the Smoky Mountains; discussions with truckers about Caitlin Jenner’s choices; naps in the live oak- and Spanish moss-filled squares of Savannah.

All of this might have happened without our bright red steed, but it didn’t. And the flexibility of the pickup — bred as a workhorse and successfully adapted for the 21st-century flatlander who occasionally hauls wood — manifested itself in everything we did. When the journey becomes the destination, you see, other lines get blurred, including the way you feel about a complex machine wrapped in sheet metal. This isn’t a new revelation. Greater road trippers than we, and greater writers than I, have experienced it and told it well. But the feeling was new, and stronger than I realized.

When we passed the southbound I-95 exit on the way out of Savannah, to Jacksonville to Mobile to New Orleans and eventually to a reverse loop of Travels with Charley , with border-of-America proportions, we made an almost imperceptible swerve toward the ramp. I felt the animal desire to continue this migration from my normal life, and felt the weight of my girlfriend’s will pressing there, too. The truck was so in tune with us that it only felt right to use it so. It was only my sense of adventure being bullied by societal responsibilities that straightened the steering wheel and kept our wheels pointed north, toward home.

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The Best Gear for Your Road Trips

By Kit Dillon and Wirecutter Staff

A road trip is an adventure. It doesn’t matter how far you go. But all adventures require a little planning (and one or two backup plans, in case things go sideways).

We took our first testing road trip in an age far less complicated than these past few years, but the gear we tested and the advice we’ve gathered here should still help you navigate the roads safely and comfortably.

Our original trip, in 2016, included 60 hours of researching and testing gear to take on the open road. We packed all of our top contenders into a Honda Fit EX and headed out on a four-day jaunt to determine what’s nice to have, what’s great, and what’s absolutely essential for your next road trip.

In 2020 we added a few items to help you adhere to safe-travel guidelines, and those things will always come in handy during flu and cold season. We’ve also added several selections to take on challenging winter car trips.

After traveling for 1,500 miles, through four states and six national parks, we think we have a good grasp on what makes an excellent road trip. In addition to performing our own research and testing, we consulted with half a dozen engineers, mechanics, and other experts to bring you these picks. Our hope is that the recommendations in this guide will help you see more and explore farther down the road than you thought possible.

Below, you’ll find recommendations for cargo boxes , binoculars , coolers , emergency beacons , a first-aid kit , a folding blanket , an ice scraper , an instant camera , inverters for your electronics , a multi-tool , phone mounts , a portable jump starter , ratchets and tie-down straps , a road atlas , stain remover , a stowable daypack , sun shades , sunglasses , a tire-pressure gauge , a toolkit for cars , a travel game , a travel pillow , water jugs , windshield water repellent , wipes , and so much more. These items will help you have a successful road trip, regardless of region or weather.

However, even if you have the best gear in the world, it’s always best to address small problems before they become emergencies. That’s why we asked Christopher Smith , a veteran automotive journalist with a penchant for restoring fixer-uppers, to help us put together some advice on how to prepare your car for a trip . (And he lives in South Dakota, where things are spread out, so he’s always prepared.) We cover everything from checking your tires and dipsticks to knowing what you should do if your car starts smelling like rotten eggs for seemingly no reason.

This guide isn’t specifically geared toward families, though most of the picks would be useful to a family traveling by car. We do have guides to infant car seats , travel car seats , booster car seats , and water bottles for kids —all things that are of particular interest to families on the road.

The research

Stowing your gear, in the driver’s seat, health and cleaning supplies, staying comfortable, refreshments, entertainment, just in case, preparing for a road trip.

Being able to find what you need when you need it—whether it’s water, emergency lights, a change of clothes, or a granola bar—can make the difference between a short, easy stop that rejuvenates and a long, frustrating one that makes you question why you left home in the first place.

It all starts with packing. Don’t overthink it. We like to keep items grouped: emergency gear in the back right of the trunk, water in the back left, spare batteries in the glove compartment along with the power inverter, and so on. After a few days, double-checking that everything is where it should be before heading off becomes a comforting ritual, and it helps mitigate the worry that you left … something … in the motel last night.

And don’t overpack. As with a bag, a well-packed car is one that has less than you think you want to bring but everything that you truly need. You don’t have to bring everything—just the things that are essential. Remember, you want to enjoy the drive. Not having to worry about countless items that someone might lose or misplace is a big step toward that enjoyment.

Cargo boxes

Yakima SkyBox NX 18

The best cargo box.

This cargo box offers great aerodynamics, easy mounting and operation, and a lot of storage at a reasonable price.

Buying Options

A cargo box effectively allows you to double your trunk space by moving bulky items from your car’s interior or trunk to its roof. After gathering up as much intel as we could about rooftop cargo boxes from experts, retailers, manufacturers, customers, and outdoor-gear reviewers, we’ve concluded that of the 21 boxes we surveyed, the Yakima SkyBox NX 18 offers the best combination of features, build quality, and value pricing for most road trips.

The NX line replaces the Carbonite line of Yakima boxes, which included our previous cargo box pick, the SkyBox 16 Carbonite .

The cargo box’s low-drag aerodynamic design minimizes wind noise and reduces the impact on fuel economy. Its 18 cubic feet of space allows it to hold skis, duffle bags, backpacks, sleeping bags and other camping gear, or any random (though fairly lightweight) stuff, and it does so securely—both in solidly mounting to your roof rack and in resisting theft. If you don’t have a rack already, this REI car rack buying guide is a good place to start, but be sure to consult your car’s owner manual to see how much weight its roof can bear.

The SkyBox NX 18 is easy to use. Like most cargo boxes these days, it uses sliding brackets, rather than one or two fixed spots, for attachment to the crossbars, making perfect positioning a snap. To secure the brackets to the crossbars, you use a simple torque wrench (included) that will announce with an audible click—like a gas-tank cap—when you’ve tightened the four installation bolts down securely. The tool lives inside the cargo box, though out of the way of your gear, for safekeeping.

Once installed, the SkyBox NX 18 allows easy access from either side of the car, and its newly redesigned dimensions (a change from the previous model) make it less likely to interfere with a liftgate if you put it on a hatchback or station wagon.

If you need more space, Yakima’s older-generation 21-cubic-foot model (the company has not released an updated, NX 21 version so far) may still be available for purchase. Be aware, however, that this box weighs more and can encourage overloading past your car rack’s weight limit, which might be lower than you expect. It may also be too long in the back to clear some liftgates. As Ken Klaes, general manager of ReRack , a Portland, Oregon–based cargo-box retailer and rental company, explained to us: “A rack designed to carry 150 pounds doesn’t forget that the box is there; the weight of the box itself (often 50-ish pounds) needs to be subtracted from the weight rating to give you a real capacity for the box.”

Roof straps

Keeper Endless Loop Ratchet Tie-Down

The best ratcheting straps.

Easier to use than non-ratcheting straps, these straps ensure that your stuff stays put.

I spent many years working in rigging and rope access on offshore oil platforms, where I played with loads, angles, line pulls, and sheave-block friction percentages—in other words, I know a thing or two about strapping things down. You can find two common types of roof straps: ratchet straps, which have a mechanical lever and gear, and cam straps (sometimes called “lashing” or “loop” straps), which connect to themselves through a cam buckle . If I could choose only one type, I’d get ratchet straps because they’re easier to secure. More specifically, I’d get the Keeper Endless Loop Ratchet Tie-Down .

We spent several hours examining 22 strap options before landing on the Keeper version. Keeper is a reliable brand, and the ratchets are easy to tighten and loosen, thanks to their all-metal construction. ( Cheaper ratchets are hard to release and prone to sticking or breaking due to their reliance on plastic parts.) At 13 feet long, these 1-inch straps are long enough for all but the most strenuous loads on the largest of vehicles, and their nylon webbing’s 400-pound working load limit and 1,200-pound break strength put them right in line with similarly priced straps. You could get something that’s heavier-duty or longer, but you’d be paying more for strength or length you don’t need.

On our trip, driving in a car without a roof rack, we used the Keeper straps to great success. The straps held a full water jug to the roof of our Honda for a few dozen miles through the backroads of Arizona with no issues. Other Wirecutter staffers have owned Keeper straps for years and vouch for their overall strength and durability.

NRS 1″ HD Tie-Down Straps

The best cam straps.

Simpler and cheaper than ratchet straps, these straps have above-average strength ratings.

If you prefer the simplicity of a cam strap or don’t need the extra force that a ratchet strap provides, we like the NRS 1″ HD Tie-Down Straps , which come in a variety of lengths. They’re pricier than more popular options, but their webbing is rated to a 1,500-pound breaking strength (the cam itself has a 2,000-pound breaking strength) and a 500-pound working load, in contrast with the 600-pound breaking strength and 200-pound working load of this best-selling Keeper set . Equipment of this grade may seem like overkill, but Wirecutter’s Mark Smirniotis had several weaker cams fail on him when he was strapping loads to his Jeep. He noted in 2016 that of all the straps on Amazon with more than 25 customer reviews, the NRS straps were the only ones that had no reviews complaining of failed cams. NRS is primarily known as the premier kayaking- and rafting-accessory company, so the folks there probably know something about strapping awkwardly large loads onto cars.

Thule Quick Loop Strap 530

For smaller cars.

This strap offers a quick way to add load-stabilizing anchor points to a small car.

For owners of compact cars who want to move long or oversize loads, such as a kayak, we also like the Thule Quick Loop Strap . You secure these straps under the hood of your car (or the trunk, if you don’t have a hatchback) to create a set of forward anchor points to help stabilize the forward section of whatever it is you’re carrying. Judging from our testing, these straps are very quick to set up, and they can add a welcome level of versatility to tough packing situations.

• Always check the maximum load of your car’s anchor points, such as the roof rack. Ratchet straps can apply a lot of force beyond just the weight of your belongings, so knowing your maximum load will help you avoid over-tensioning the straps.
• If the straps vibrate against the roof while you drive, adding a few twists in them can sometimes stop them from slicing the air.
• Don’t put knots in your straps, especially if you’re applying tension. Knots can cut through nylon with surprisingly little force. A knot also significantly reduces the overall load that the strap can handle.
• Never use bungee cords to hold anything down. They’re fine for stabilizing items but not for securing heavy loads.

Driving can be fun, meditative, exhausting, and torturous. After five hours of driving through the desert, it can sometimes be all of those things at the same time.

A thousand little gadgets promise to make a long drive somehow easier. Most of them are useless and seemingly designed to distract you more than anything else. Try to avoid these items. The best gear is durable, unobtrusive, and easy to use—so you can keep your eyes (and your thoughts) on the road.

You will get bored—500 miles on cruise control with an automatic transmission can be a pretty dull time. Not always, of course, but sometimes it will be boring, and maybe that’s the point. In this frenetic age, that feeling is practically a luxury, and it’s essential to the trip. Revel in it.

It would be impossible for us to pick the best overall sunglasses, since your choice ultimately depends on your personal style. We have picks for cheap sunglasses in a separate guide. But driving sunglasses are different because they’re designed to help you perform a specific task: driving safely. In that regard, Maui Jim makes the best sunglasses around, though they are something of an investment.

The best sunglasses

These are the clearest driving sunglasses we’ve found, with no perceptible distortion.

We compared a Maui Jim pair with more than 20 types of sunglasses, driving or otherwise, and found this pair to be the best of the bunch. The Maui Jim sunglasses had the clearest lenses, with no perceptible distortion, on the lightest frames we tested (0.6 ounce, or about half the weight of a wooden pencil). I’ve never encountered sunglasses that I can wear for hours on end without somehow hurting my nose, ears, or both. But during my trip there were a few afternoons when I had completely forgotten I was even wearing the Maui Jim sunglasses—despite five-plus hours of driving with them on.

The clarity of the lenses was another surprise. The Maui Jim lenses are so clear that it’s borderline unsettling the first time you try on these sunglasses. Thanks to the lenses’ exceptional clarity and polarization, everything—including the scenery around you and the road ahead—looks sharper through them.

As far as specific model recommendations go, I suggest scanning the offerings on the Maui Jim website and reading the fit descriptions to find something that matches your aesthetic sensibilities. Unlike companies that go by lens size only, Maui Jim lists face shape as part of its fit guidelines. That means you’re more likely to find what’s most comfortable for you on your first try. Just keep in mind that bigger lenses tend to be better because they offer more coverage.

Maui Jim glasses come with a two-year warranty . After checking with the company, we confirmed that it fulfills warranties on its sunglasses no matter where you buy them. However, Maui Jim services only authentic lenses and frames that haven’t been modified in any way. You can tell whether the pair you have is genuine (and not a knockoff) by confirming that the Maui Jim logo is etched, not just painted onto the lens.

Smartphone mount

In an ideal world, people wouldn’t use a phone at all while driving, and if you have a copilot, you shouldn’t have to—you can delegate the phone-related tasks to them. But in reality, for many drivers, a phone is the source for navigation, information, messages, music, and (of course) phone calls. However, if you hold the phone in your hand as you drive—or look down at it in a cup holder or center-console bin—it can be a major distraction and safety risk. That’s why we recommend using a smartphone mount.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2

The best dash- or windshield-mounted smartphone mount.

Whether it’s on a dashboard or windshield, this model is easy to set up, grips securely, and has a strong magnetic mount that supports most phones in any position.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 Air Vent Mount

The best vent-mounted smartphone mount.

This model is easy to set up and remove, and it has the same strong magnetic mount as the dash version. It securely held on to our cars’ vent slats.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 CD Slot Mount

The best cd-slot-mounted smartphone mount.

This mount attached quickly and firmly to our cars’ CD slots and has the same magnetic mount as the other iTap Magnetic 2 versions.

I enjoy the simplicity of my phone with no accessories, so I like that the iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 mounts offer an attractively easy way to mount and unmount my phone with one hand. In our tests , the magnets in all three versions— dash/windshield , vent , and CD slot —were strong, supporting most of our phones vertically and horizontally over even the roughest terrain. Only the large, 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max gave them some trouble when they held it horizontally; the mounts were solid with a 6-inch Google Pixel 2 XL.

To use the magnetic mount, you have to attach a small metal plate to the back of your phone or to the case. Doing so is safe for your phone, and we found this detail to be small, subtle, and attractive enough that we didn’t mind it. Often you can hide it entirely by attaching the plate to the inside of a phone’s case. But the plate could interfere with your ability to wirelessly charge your phone; if you want to be able to continue to use that function, consider the following options from our guide to wireless charging phone mounts .

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2 Dash & Windshield Mount

Best mount for charging a smartphone on a dash or windshield.

This model delivered some of the quickest charging speeds and earned top results for stability. It lets you easily mount and unmount your phone, too.

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2 Air Vent & CD Slot Mount

Best mount for charging a smartphone on a car’s air vent or cd slot.

This is the sturdiest vent-mounted model we tested, with fast charging speeds, a firm grip, and a quick way to attach and remove your phone.

The iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2—available as a dash and windshield mount or a vent and CD player mount —offers a convenient way to charge your phone in the car while also giving you easy access to audio controls, directions, messages, and more. In our tests , both models ranked among the quickest at charging our phones. Their spring-loaded tension arms made attaching or removing a phone of any size simple, and they held the phone steady while we drove. Both models offer a wide range of adjustability for positioning your phone where you can readily see it, regardless of the vehicle. iOttie also offers a magnetic mount (for vent use) that’s compatible with wireless charging.

Rain-repellent coatings

Rain and snow add stress to a road trip, and they decrease your visibility and your reaction time in an emergency. Along with wipers, rain-repellent windshield coatings can help keep your windshield clear. If you want the most effective rain repellent, pick up the classic Rain-X spray bottle and commit to applying it once a month. If you simply want to give your windshield a boost, Aquapel is almost as effective and can last six times longer between applications—but it is very expensive.

Rain-X Original Glass Water Repellent

Cheap but short-lived repellent.

This affordable hydrophobic spray offers effective protection, but it wears off after a couple of weeks.

Most auto-supply shops offer a huge variety of Rain-X products, including wiper blades, gels, and washer-fluid additives, but you should stick to the original Rain-X formula in the 16-ounce spray bottle because it has the most reliably positive reviews from buyers. Once applied, Rain-X forms a hydrophobic coating , which causes water to bead up and quickly slide off your windshield. Most people who have used Rain-X agree that maintaining its effectiveness requires reapplication about once a month. If your wiper blades start “chattering,” that probably means the coating is beginning to wear unevenly, and it’s time to reapply.

Aquapel Glass Treatment

Long-lasting but pricey repellent.

Aquapel bonds to your windshield for up to half a year, but it costs more than twice as much as Rain-X.

If you can’t commit to applying Rain-X once a month, consider Aquapel . Instead of coating your windshield, it bonds to the glass chemically , and it should last for three to six months before you need to pull out another one-time-use sponge and reapply. YouTube user jwardell posted a 30-day comparison video that shows how Rain-X is more effective initially, but after a month Aquapel still works even after the Rain-X has all but worn off.

For either repellent, proper application is the key to getting the maximum benefit. You need to start with an extremely clean windshield. Then clean it again just to be sure. Both of these repellents dry best in warm weather, out of direct sun. Even when perfectly applied, however, these substances have potential drawbacks. Some people who have used them complain that the repellents cause noticeable haziness at night. Others report that they had trouble getting windshield chips professionally filled after learning that the chemicals interfered with repair methods—though Aquapel’s site disputes such claims. Still, if you’re stuck in inclement weather on a road trip or a commute, either the original Rain-X spray or Aquapel can help increase visibility and decrease your stress levels.

Ice scraper and snow brush

Hopkins SubZero 80037

The best ice scraper and snow brush.

Efficient at clearing ice and sweeping snow, this scraper works on vehicles of all sizes.

The Hopkins SubZero 80037 tool combines a scraping blade and ice-crushing teeth to make quick work of thick or thin ice, and its plow-like bristle broom is the best we’ve tested —equally adept at shoveling snow off body panels and brushing it out from tight spots around mirrors and wipers. The Hopkins SubZero has a self-locking extension that’s easy to use when you want to fold the scraper away to make room in the trunk of your car. It’s of average size—39 inches folded up and 60 inches fully extended. But no other contender offers such a complete scraping-and-sweeping package with so few weaknesses.

Paper road atlas

Rand McNally Road Atlas

The best road atlas.

This atlas is large enough to use while you’re in motion, with a logical, straightforward layout.

With the advent of GPS units and smartphone navigation apps (both of which we recommend over the onboard navigation systems that might come with a car), the age of the paper road atlas would seem to be over. But don’t let anyone convince you of that. A road atlas is the heart of every road trip. It’s the inspiration.

Planning a road trip starts with imagining the places you could be next weekend, if you threw a few granola bars and some clothes into the backseat and left everything else behind. Of course, you could bring up Google Maps, look up the top 10 travel destinations near you, plan your exact route, and save a PDF to your digital device so you’d know exactly where to go and how to get there at each stage of your trip.

Or you could pull out a physical map and highlight a route. You might not know exactly what to expect when you get there, but you’ll definitely know that you can get there. And regardless of electronic-device failures, you will always have a map in hand.

For use in the car, we like the classic Rand McNally Road Atlas —just make sure to get an updated edition. Its oversize shape makes it simple to read and easy to spread out on the hood or in your lap, and the user-friendly design can’t be beat. This atlas’s arrangement of state and keyhole maps is the best for navigation.

As a test, we used the Rand McNally atlas to complete the first leg of our trip, from Ventura to Joshua Tree, California, with no phones and no GPS, on roads we had never driven before. The Rand McNally atlas was simple, functional, and easy to follow. Most important, it was fun to use.

We did read one complaint from somebody who began using that year’s map early: Some of the roads it listed as passable were still mid-construction at the time. If you’re buying a map in the middle of the year or later, you could play it safe and stick with the current year’s edition.

Garmin DriveSmart 55

The best car gps.

Best-in-class directions, driver alerts, points of interest, and free map updates—combined with the best screen we’ve seen on any GPS unit—set this model apart from the pack.

For most shorter trips, a smartphone can provide all the navigation assistance you need. But should your journey take you off the beaten path (and out of your coverage area), we suggest the Garmin DriveSmart 55 . Like the best GPS units, the DriveSmart 55 can also connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth, which lets you send destinations to the device, get incoming messages on screen, and receive extra trip and traffic info. The DriveSmart 55’s extensive points-of-interest database helps guide you to an area’s best sites and businesses through integrated Tripadvisor ratings, Foursquare listings, a database of sites from the History network, and US national park directories (something that other brands’ models don’t offer). Similar to a smartphone, the DriveSmart 55 allows multi-touch gestures, such as pinching or spreading for easier zooming on a map; this feature is a clear step up from the resistive displays of less-expensive units, which allow only single-finger gestures and require you to tap on the plus and minus buttons to zoom in or out.

The DriveSmart 55 also provides helpful traffic info in many metro areas. It responds to voice commands as effectively as the best GPS units, and like other top models it includes free lifetime map updates—in contrast with the pricey updates you need to buy for many cars’ built-in navigation systems.

Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes

The best body wipes.

Not quite a shower but pretty darn close, these wipes are amazing after a sweaty day in the desert.

Road-trip and backpacking veterans know just how much better a shower can make an adventure after three days and a lot of smelly clothes. When taking a shower is not an option, or even if you just want to tidy up a bit after a long drive, body wipes can provide some much-needed relief.

We considered 22 brands and tested nine different body wipes, including some that were popular on Amazon and others that were recommended on the blogs of seasoned outdoorspeople.

Cheap, portable, and durable, the Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes were the clear winners.

The wipes come in a resealable package, which helps keep them fresher for longer. You can find them in two sizes, XL (8 by 12 inches, in a pack of eight) and Compact (6 by 8 inches, in a pack of 12). On our trip, we preferred the XL wipes for their extra coverage and longer cleaning power. The fully compostable Wilderness Wipes were among the most lightly scented ones we tested, and their lack of alcohol left our skin feeling clean and moist.

Surface wipes

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

The best disinfecting wipes.

Effective, EPA-approved, and (usually) easy to find, these pre-soaked wipes need only four minutes of contact time to neutralize the coronavirus—and they’ll kill other nasty bugs you might come across in your travels, too.

Most disinfecting wipes are the same. Although we recommend Clorox Disinfecting Wipes , we advise getting any pack of wipes you can find that contains a disinfectant on the EPA’s List N (most have a bleach or quaternary ammonium base). Clorox’s bleach-free wipes are usually sold in single canisters or in four-packs at a range of retailers. These wipes can eliminate the coronavirus and other pathogens on hard surfaces—countertops, door handles, and bathroom fixtures—in your home, vehicle, or motel room, but not on fabric or other soft materials.

Surface spray

Lysol Disinfectant Spray

The best disinfectant spray.

This aerosol works in 10 minutes and is fabric-safe, but it’s guaranteed to eliminate the coronavirus and other pathogens only on hard surfaces.

Instead of bleach, which can damage car interiors, Lysol Disinfectant Spray uses quaternary ammonium. It’s safe on hard surfaces and most fabrics, and it’s gentler on skin than bleach. It also produces fewer harsh fumes—which is good if you’re disinfecting the same space frequently. The spray eliminates the coronavirus, for instance, on hard surfaces in 10 minutes, but on soft surfaces it only sanitizes (kills most but not all pathogens).

One thing we’ve learned in the past few years is that face masks can be useful whenever you’re sick (with COVID-19, a cold, the flu, whatever) and don’t want to share your misery with fellow passengers, people at rest stops, or anyone else. Fortunately, compared with the situation in early 2020, medical-style N95 and KN95 masks (which many experts recommend as the best protection) are widely available these days. They’re easy to tuck into a bag, which we do now whenever we travel. You can find out where to buy these masks in our guide .

Stain remover

Shout Wipe & Go Instant Stain Remover Wipes

The best stain remover.

By keeping a pack of these in your glove box, you’ll remain tidy through multiple meals at drive-throughs.

In our testing, we’ve found that if you spend five hours a day in the car on a drive-through-fueled cannonball run, there’s no way you’ll get to your final destination without having some kind of condiments disaster. I met my own inevitable conclusion outside an In-N-Out Burger on the last leg of our trip.

When the unavoidable happens, you’ll need something more than a napkin and ice water to clean up the mess. We recommend Shout Wipe & Go Instant Stain Remover Wipes . We tested them against other instant spot removers and assorted DIY methods to see how they handled wine, coffee, lipstick, and mustard stains.

In our tests, the Shout wipes easily outperformed the popular Tide To Go pen , and the Shout option was the only stain remover that erased almost all traces of lipstick on the collar of a shirt. These wipes also did pretty well on the ketchup I spilled.

The single-use towelettes don’t occupy much space; you can throw a dozen into your glove compartment and barely notice they’re there. Plus, by using a single wipe per stain, you don’t risk depositing an old stain on another piece of clothing, as you might with reusable stain-remover sticks.

Hand lotion

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion

The best moisturizing lotion.

Once it’s rubbed in, this moisturizing lotion is lighter and drier-feeling than competitors. It’s better for people with normal to oily skin.

You might find yourself washing your hands a lot on the road, which can result in cracked and dry skin. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion is thick enough to stay neat in your hand and thin enough to spread quickly and smoothly onto your skin. Unlike its competitors , this moisturizing lotion dries nicely without leaving a greasy film in its wake. And its neutral scent won’t follow you out of the bathroom or into your car.

Can a long road trip be comfortable? I didn’t think so: Long hours of sitting in one position, nights spent camping or sleeping in cheap motel beds, and breaks for indigestible fast food are a terrible combination. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

With a little planning and a few small luxuries, you can keep the enthusiasm of your trip alive. Skip the fast food and instead pack your own snacks and water. Keep off the main highways and pull over when the scenery strikes you (not when you’ve gone a certain number of miles). And stop for as long as you need. The cliché is unavoidable: It’s the journey that’s important, not the destination (though that should be good too!).

Folding blanket

Nemo Victory Picnic Blanket

Comfortable and easy to carry.

Our favorite picnic blanket travels easily, feels comfortable to sit on, and holds up to wear and tear.

There’s only so much time you can spend in a car without needing to pull over to pause, stretch your legs, and take in the scenery. We stopped dozens of times on our trip, and we were glad every time we were able to take a side road, pull out a blanket, and find a place to sit down and share some food.

In 2023, Nemo enlarged the Victory Blanket, which previously fit just two people, to fit four people. At roughly 95 by 95 inches, according to our measurements, the Nemo Victory Picnic Blanket is now bigger than most blankets we looked at; it’s well suited for larger groups of people or for two people who want room for more board games and snacks. For those who need even more space, the Victory Blanket is also available in a truly mammoth extra-large version (120 by 120 inches). Both sizes come with two adjustable, clasping straps that keep the blanket rolled up tight, and those clasps can perform double duty as bottle openers.

Travel pillow

Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch

The best travel pillow.

The redesigned-for-2022 Therm-A-Rest pillow remains a firm and supportive choice that packs down to 50% of its expanded size. It now has a sewn-in cable that you can cinch down to make the pillow firmer.

price may vary by color or size

A good travel pillow is hard to find. It shouldn’t take up much space, and it should be able to expand when it needs to. And, ideally, it should allow you to shape it for use as a shoulder or neck pillow when necessary, such as when you’re on a plane or in the passenger seat of a car.

We found that the foam-filled Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch fit all of those criteria exceedingly well. During the day, it can fold in on itself (a loop-and-toggle closure holds it tight), which makes it easy to stow in a backpack or to toss into the backseat. When it’s in this tightly packed configuration, you can also use it as a shoulder and lumbar pillow. The Therm-A-Rest pillow is a bit larger than your typical travel pillow when it’s packed down—about the size of a tissue box—but saving space is less of a priority when you’re driving instead of flying.

At night, the pillow unrolls and expands into a decent bed pillow, though side-sleepers with larger frames may say it has too little padding. But this is a travel pillow, of course, so it will never feel like your home pillow, which is all part of the fun somehow. I sleep on my side and back, and I found it exceptionally comfortable compared with camping pillows I’d used in the past, although I did have to supplement it with a flannel shirt when I wanted to sleep on my side. In spring 2022, Therm-A-Rest released a slightly redesigned version of the pillow. The “regular” version is roughly the same size and weight as the old “medium” version, but the integrated pocket is now larger (9 inches deep instead of 6), which we found makes the pillow easier to roll up. The pillow also has a cord sewn in a loop into its back; you can tighten the cord and cinch it securely to make the pillow firmer. One other change: A thin layer of polyfill backs the brushed polyester fabric on its face and softens the lumpiness of the foam filling.

The Therm-A-Rest pillow is well reviewed on Amazon and on REI’s site. It’s available in a variety of colors and sizes, but we prefer the regular/medium for its mix of portability and support.

Silk sleeper wrap

Sea to Summit Premium Silk Travel Liner

The best sleeping bag liner.

This liner is a lightweight, moisture-wicking, easy-packing fix for scratchy motel sheets.

Not all motels are created equal. Some are fantastic, with their bright neon signs truthfully advertising a cheap, clean, and convenient place to stay. But out there you can stumble across other motels—desperate, last-chance places you wouldn’t wish on anyone, and cursed by all of the bleary-eyed travelers who’ve been forced to stay in them for a night.

Sea to Summit’s Premium Silk Travel Liner is the best accessory to bring along for these situations. Inclement weather, unexpected traffic, or poor planning (my personal downfall) may at some point prevent you from reaching your expected destination for the night and force you to stay somewhere you wish you didn’t have to. We can’t help you accept your fate, but we can make that night just a little easier to tolerate.

Nidra Deep Rest Eye Mask

The best sleep mask.

Lightweight and contoured, this mask fits comfortably and blocks light well for a wide variety of face shapes (though it’s best for those who sleep on their back). And the mask’s deep eyecups allow your eyes to flutter during sleep.

Not every bedroom on the road is as dark as some people would like. That’s why we recommend the Nidra Deep Rest Eye Mask . Its contoured eyecups rest over your eyes, giving them space to move, which makes this mask comfortable to sleep in—even when you’re sitting upright (as you might in the passenger side of a car). Although the mask is adjustable, with Velcro straps, restless sleepers may want to consider other options in our full guide to sleep masks . If the Nidra mask fits you well, its weightless feel can make you forget you’re wearing a mask at all as you continue to sleep in bright cars or poorly shuttered hotel rooms.

Puffy blanket

Rumpl Down Puffy

The best outdoor blanket.

This blanket offers the greatest warmth and durability for the lowest relative weight, price, and size. It also stuffs away very well when not in use.

The Rumpl Down Puffy blanket, which has a soft yet durable nylon shell that’s stuffed with water-repellent and sustainably sourced down, wards off the cold better for the price than the competition. It helps you to stay warm longer, inside or outside. (A puffy blanket has come in handy for us especially on winter road trips in an EV, when we don’t have the heat of a combustion engine warming the interior of the vehicle.) So far in our testing , the Rumpl blanket has survived four rounds in the washing machine without a snag, and it dries within an hour. And it’s been notably stain resistant after encountering dirt, dew, and even coffee.

Van camping mattress

Hest Sleep System

The best vehicle camping mattress.

Predominantly for van camping or long-term car camping, this blowup mattress takes up a hefty amount of space when stowed away but provides the most comfort of any camping mattress we’ve tested.

Although the size of the Hest Sleep System limits its use to either vans or pickup trucks, we’re including it on this list because of its impressive night-over-night comfort. If your road trips tend to include lots of outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, or climbing, a good night’s sleep is fundamental to having the energy you need to enjoy your days. The Hest mattress takes up about the space of a small cot mattress (78 by 25 inches). Half consists of a dense foam layer, and the other half is a high-pressure inflatable base that needs a pump system to inflate. The Hest mattress is not a small piece of kit when rolled up: It weighs 26 pounds and packs up into a 28-by-16-inch bedroll, including the air pump. If two of you are camping, you can connect two Sleep Systems together, though Hest also makes the Dually two-person foam mattress, which we haven’t had a chance to test yet.

Tinkle Belle Female Urination Device

The best pee funnel.

Sturdy and accommodating yet packable, the Tinkle Belle funnel is easy to use and clean when you’re on the road or hiking a trail.

It’s not always easy to find a secluded spot on the side of the road or a clean-enough public restroom. The Tinkle Belle funnel has a stable, rigid base and a flexible spout, so it won’t collapse under you during use, as Wirecutter senior staff writer Nancy Redd learned while researching the topic. One of the longest and widest of all the single-piece reusable funnels Nancy tested , the Tinkle Belle funnel makes less mess and is easy to use, as the more coverage a funnel has, the lower the risk of leakage or spills. While you’re on the road, a simple rinse works fine for cleaning the funnel. Although the Tinkle Belle funnel is larger than most, it folds up for more-compact storage. You can also buy it with a matching case .

Windshield protector and sunshade

A1 210T Fabric Sunshade

The best windshield shade.

This shade provides effective sun protection and fits a wide variety of windshields. It’s easy to store, too.

If you’re traveling through a sunny area, a sunshade for your windshield is a worthwhile investment. We like the A1 Windshield Sun Shade , which we found to offer the best combination of low cost, decent coverage, and ease of setup. Its pop-up design made it much simpler to install and stow than the accordion-style shades we tested.

Recommending just one sunshade for all cars is difficult because vehicles vary so much in size. But A1 offers several sizing options ranging from 59 by 19 inches to 69 by 36 inches (when the shade is fully expanded). You can compress each of these size options down to fit into a circular carrying case, which you can easily store on the door or underneath the seat. When you take the A1 sunshade out of the case, the compressed plastic arcs inside the sunshade spring open to create a rectangular shape, which you can adjust to fit your car’s windshield. Amazon reviewers mention that the build quality is solid and that the metallic finish does a good job against the sun, particularly in hot Southern states like Florida and Texas. Several reviewers also recommend , however, that you buy a size smaller than you think you need to avoid excessive overhang.

Although we prefer the A1 shade’s pop-up design, it’s not completely foolproof. Even with the choice in sizes, you still might have difficulty arranging the two plastic circles (which provide rigidity) within the A1 shade into a shape that hugs both edges of the front window and balances off the rearview mirror. Gaps, loose corners, or overhangs are almost unavoidable. In the end, what you gain in compactness and decent price, you lose in rigidity and reflective power. If you’re uncertain, measure before buying, or look into a custom shade like the WeatherTech shade described below, which is guaranteed to fit.

WeatherTech SunShade

A custom-fitted, maximum-protection shade.

This custom-fitted shade will ensure that no sun gets in, even in the sunniest climates.

If maximum temperature reduction is your goal, invest in a custom-fitted WeatherTech SunShade . Thicker than the A1 shade, WeatherTech’s shade completely blacks out the windshield when you install it. This shade is also notably bulky—about the size of a yoga mat when rolled up—and difficult to store discreetly. But if you frequent sunny climates, it’s well worth the cost, which at this writing starts at $55.

Passenger window UV protector and shade

Britax EZ-Cling Window Shades

The best passenger shade.

This shade sticks easily to car windows and provides great sun protection for passengers.

We researched 14 shade models and tested two finalists before determining that the Britax EZ-Cling Window Sun Shade is the best around. Available in a pack of two, it’s dead simple to install, and it’s effective. The Mylar on the back provides some protection against UV rays, and it acts like a large sheet of cling film that seems drawn to your windows once you pull the shades out of the box; the black mesh on the inner surface blocks a good amount of sunlight while still allowing you to see through the shade. We like the EZ-Cling shade better than film-only shades because the EZ-Cling design has a support ring of firmer material around its perimeter that makes it easier to install without prompting wrinkles and bubbles. I have way more fun than I rightly should when I’m putting these things onto car windows.

Unlike similar models with suction cups, the EZ-Cling shade doesn’t have any secondary or removable parts. Wirecutter’s Dan Frakes tried four other shades of various types and was dissatisfied with all of them, so he brought two EZ-Cling pairs for testing on a four-day road trip with his family. “They clung to the windows well,” Dan said. “They were a lot easier to install than both the suction-cup models and the flimsy film ones we’ve tried. We also removed them and reapplied them many times as our position relative to the sun changed, and it was easy to do so. Our only real complaint is that they’re small—they don’t cover an entire backseat window.” That kind of half-coverage can’t keep the sun off young children for too long, especially when the sun is low on the horizon.

Quick tip: Be sure to wipe your EZ-Cling shades with water when you first get them. A thin film protects the Mylar sheets during production, and it can leave a waxy residue on your car’s windows if you use the shades right out of the box without first wiping them down.

Portable extending shade

Shade extension

This extending shade attaches to a variety of vehicles, whether you have a roof rack or not, and whether you attach it to metal or a composite material such as a pickup-truck bed cover.

Although the MoonShade works best on SUVs and trucks, it’s lightweight and adaptable enough to work with smaller vehicles. When deployed, the MoonShade covers 9 by 7 feet, and its height adjusts from 78 inches to 96 inches. The shade mounts in three ways: directly to a roof rack, with very strong magnets, or with surprisingly robust suction cups for composite materials. We found that all three methods are secure enough for most situations, though as you might imagine, the suction cups are somewhat less stable than a direct mount on a rack. The MoonShade weighs 8 pounds and stows away into a carrying case that measures 28 by 6 inches, which is small enough to fit in the trunk of most cars. The MoonShade is great if you like to pull over in the middle of the day and set up a lunch, or if you tend to do activities outdoors in predominantly shadeless areas, as in the Southwest.

You could cross America with no plan at all and survive solely on fast food as your nourishment, without ever having to leave your car. But we don’t recommend that. Packing your own snacks and bringing your own water is not only healthier but also safer—you never know when you might be stranded somewhere along the way.

We got stranded on our second day of driving, somewhere east of Joshua Tree, California, when we pulled off the side of the road onto a soft, sandy shoulder (we were new in this part of the country). The car’s dash thermometer read 105 degrees Fahrenheit. As we waited, I was thankful that we had full water bottles, more water in the trunk, and plenty of food.

A highway patrol officer drove up, gave us a little lesson about sand, and pushed us out with no trouble. So things turned out fine. The beauty of a road trip is in the unexpected moments. You can be prepared for most of them by having a little food and water on hand.

RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can

Best soft cooler.

This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.

Capable of carrying everything from healthy snacks to emergency ice packs, a cooler is one of those items that can make long trips a lot more enjoyable. After several 500-mile days on the road, having a chilled container filled with cold drinks and body wipes is a gift. We recommend bringing along our favorite soft cooler , the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can .

The lid of the RTIC cooler is capped by more than 2 inches of closed-cell insulation , and its walls are a touch thicker than those of the far more expensive Yeti Hopper Flip. When we tested them head-to-head, all that extra insulation seemed to give the RTIC cooler an insulating edge. The exterior of the RTIC cooler is made of a durable, thickly coated nylon—waterproof and tough—and the zippers are waterproof, as well. Still, don’t leave the cooler out in the sun, as the light and heat can degrade the material and slowly wear it out.

When the RTIC cooler is open, it stands erect like a grocery bag, providing easy access for loading and unloading.

Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler

Our hard-cooler pick.

Better insulated and less expensive than the competition, this cooler keeps ice for a week. And its well-designed drain port makes it easier to clean.

If you need extra insulation for longer hauls and don’t mind sacrificing a little extra space, we recommend the Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler . Our testing shows that a hard cooler will almost always outperform a soft cooler in insulating ability (five-plus days, versus a soft cooler’s two-day average) and durability. So the hard cooler is a great pick for RVs, trailers, or boats. But hard coolers are huge, so you might not have room for one if you’re carrying a bunch of other equipment.

Water bottles

CamelBak Eddy+ (25 ounces)

Great for the car.

A bottle with a straw is the easiest way to quaff water and keep your focus on the road since you don’t have to tilt your head back while drinking.

The 25-ounce CamelBak Eddy+ is the most reliable, most versatile water bottle for road trips that we found. This bottle has an integrated straw in the lid that features a plastic bite valve to keep it sealed (something that anyone who has owned a CamelBak hydration pack will be familiar with). Just bite down to open the straw, and release to seal it shut. That leak-free lid makes this bottle an ideal driving companion—it fits in a cup holder and is easy to sip from while you’re keeping your eyes on the road. The straw lid twists off to reveal a wide mouth that makes adding ice to your drink easy, which is handy if you like to keep your water cold. However, this is a plastic bottle, so adding ice could also make it sweaty; if you want to avoid that, the insulated version should prevent moisture from accumulating on the outside of the bottle.

Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug

The best mug for road trips.

Contigo’s Autoseal Transit is a wider mug that may fit better in cup holders than our top travel-mug pick. It doesn’t retain heat as well as our top pick, but some people may find its flat lid easier to drink from and to clean.

The Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug is a very different mug from the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug—our top pick for travel mugs —but it offers several features we like for road trips. The lid has fewer parts, is easier to clean, and prevents spills with its Autoseal button, which you have to hold down to keep the sipping port open. Plus, the flat lid won’t bump your nose or get in your line of sight while you’re drinking, as can happen with the Zojirushi model’s flip-top lid. Although this Contigo mug doesn’t keep drinks nearly as hot as the Zojirushi mug over a long period of time, some people might prefer that (we’ve heard complaints of the Zojirushi model keeping drinks too hot in the past). In addition, the Transit is a little wider than the Zojirushi mug, which is good if you want your mug to fit more snugly in a car cup holder or if you use a device such as an AeroPress, a pour-over dripper, or a tea steeper directly with your mug.

Edward Abbey wrote an entire book about being alone in the desert , long before portable screens, streaming music, and the best and worst of what instant entertainment can bring. He saw incredible things. But then again, Abbey wrote that book before he had kids.

Being in close proximity on a road trip can bond families and friends. Of course, a packed car could also become a pressure cooker. Some games, toys, and electronics can provide welcome relief.

Even more important, on our trip, every 100 miles the scenery around us changed drastically, and being able to charge our cameras allowed us to capture some wonderful personal moments.

Bestek 300W Power Inverter

The best inverter for simple devices.

More-sensitive gadgets may not function correctly while using this DC-to-AC converter, but a smoother converter costs $100-plus.

Lots of newer cars have USB ports capable of charging plenty of smaller gadgets. But to plug in bigger items, such as a computer, or certain items that have larger batteries, you need an inverter to transform your car’s round-plug, 12-volt direct current (12 V DC) outlet into a three-prong outlet with the same 120-volt alternating current (120 V AC) you have in your home. After sending our three favorites, culled from a list of 18 top-rated inverters, to physicist Jim Shapiro for testing, we recommend the Bestek 300W Power Inverter for simple devices such as water boilers. Not all inverters are equal, however, and you need to know what you’ll want to plug in before deciding which one to buy.

The Bestek unit—like every inverter that sells for less than $100—creates AC power, but in what’s called a “modified” sine wave. Shapiro examined this phenomenon using an oscilloscope. “Although the Bestek and similar units produce voltage at the same 60-hertz frequency as house voltage, the waveform has sharp corners, unlike the smooth, curvy sine-wave signal from your local power company,” Shapiro explained. “Those sharp corners give rise to higher frequency harmonics that are not friendly to electronic devices.”

However, because many electronics, including laptop computers, use power supplies to convert AC back into DC before delivering the power to your device, a higher-quality power supply can make the arrangement work—as owner reviews attest. Shapiro was able to charge an iPad without any problems via the AC outlets on the inexpensive Bestek inverter. Charging a Dell Chromebook, on the other hand, caused some problems: “The screen flickered, and I noted that when I asked the computer to display the charging time left, it oscillated between giving that time and ‘calculating,’ indicating that the software was having problems.”

While we were on the road, we realized that the Bestek inverter’s dual USB ports and dual outlets offered a nice benefit, particularly for people traveling in an older car that didn’t have USB ports built in everywhere. You shouldn’t have issues charging USB devices because they charge on DC voltage anyway. And though you can’t see the inverter’s safety features, such as over-voltage and low-voltage shutdown, they’re included as well.

For powering a TV (for tailgating) or any other demanding piece of electronics during a road trip, we used to recommend the Go Power GP-SW150-12 Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It now appears to be out of stock almost everywhere (or discontinued). As an alternative, we recommend looking into a portable power station , which is basically a large battery in a protective box, with AC outlets and other ports built in. They tend to be expensive, so for road-trip purposes we recommend our budget pick, the Jackery Explorer 300 . If you need to power only a laptop during your trip, we have several recommendations for portable laptop chargers . Note that portable power stations and laptop chargers both charge on wall outlets and can’t draw power from a car outlet.

Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger

The best car charger.

This model can charge phones, tablets, and computers from its USB-C port, plus it has a second port for charging USB-A devices. It adheres to USB-C fast-charging standards and includes a quality cable.

If your electronic gear doesn’t require AC—for instance, you’re charging smartphones or Bluetooth speakers more than laptops or portable TVs—you can save a few bucks and a lot of space by getting a car charger . Compared with the familiar USB-A port, the smaller USB-C port can charge most modern phones faster (if you’re using the right cable) and can even charge tablets and laptops. And the Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger provides the best of both worlds. When you’re using a USB-C–to–Lightning cable , the charger’s USB-C port can charge an iPhone about three times faster (at 18 watts) than the USB-A wall charger that comes in the box from Apple; your phone can charge from empty to roughly 50% in just half an hour. This Nekteck charger’s 45-watt output and included USB-C–to–C cable also support the maximum charge rate on Android phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S10), the 2020 iPad Pro, and even many laptops. And you can use the 12-watt USB-A port at the same time to charge a second phone or other device with any USB cable you already have.

Bluetooth kit

Besign BK01 Bluetooth Car Kit

Best bluetooth adapter for cars with an aux-in jack.

The Besign BK01 kit offers great sound quality for music and good sound quality for phone calls. It also lets you pair two phones and access your voice assistant with the press of an easy-to-find button.

If your car lacks Bluetooth support—which you may want for wirelessly listening to music or connecting your phone calls over the car’s stereo system—and you aren’t willing to swap out the stereo for a new one that has such a feature, your best option is a Bluetooth kit. The best and easiest way to add Bluetooth to cars with a line-in jack is to get an aux kit. The Besign BK01 Bluetooth Car Kit provides good sound quality for music, clear-sounding voice audio for hands-free calls, and access to Siri or Google Assistant at the press of a button. It also allows you to connect two phones at once, so you and your passengers don’t have to duke it out for the aux cord.

iPad headrest mount

Depending on the length of your trip and the temperament of your passengers, you may need to find a way to keep folks occupied. Providing their favorite movies or TV shows on a tablet is an option. After testing six top tablet-mount contenders, we determined that Arkon’s Center Extension Car Headrest Tablet Mount is a great pick for viewing by multiple backseat passengers.

Arkon Center Extension Car Headrest Tablet Mount

For multiple viewers.

This model positions a tablet solidly between the front seats for easy viewing by all backseat passengers.

The Arkon mount anchors with a pair of adjustable clamps that tighten around the metal rods that support a front seat’s headrest; the tablet holster is located on the end of an extendable pole that you can move to a position between the front seats, where all three passengers in the backseat can view it.

We had recommended the LilGadgets CarBuddy Universal Headrest Tablet Mount for people who preferred a mount that’s best for just one backseat passenger. It appears to have been discontinued, but it’s a good find if you can get your hands on one.

Instant camera

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

The best instant camera.

Fun and simple to use, this camera takes good-looking wallet-sized photos for 60¢ per print.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Film (Twin Pack)

Instax mini film.

Buying Instax Mini film in twin packs helps you get the best price.

With a smartphone, showing a photo to hundreds of followers is as easy as pressing the share button. But if you want to create something tangible, an instant-film camera can add a fun and welcome dose of analog charm to your digital world. Our pick is the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 , which provides high-quality, retro-cool prints at a reasonable price.

Also, when your phone is serving as a radio, a map, a restaurant guide, and whatever else, you’ll appreciate having a dedicated tool that does one thing: take instant shots that look great.

After doing extensive research , we found the Instax Mini 12 to be the best instant-film camera. Its compact body feels durable, and thanks to its minimal controls, anyone can easily learn how to use it. The 3.4-by-2.1-inch prints cost only about 60¢ apiece , so documenting your trip won’t break the bank. Its photos aren’t perfectly sharp, but they are pleasingly colorful and creamy, with a classic look that we love.

Travel game

Chat Pack: Fun Questions to Spark Conversations

The best silence-breaker.

The questions are not always the most thought-provoking, but they sure can spark a conversation.

You can find countless travel games for all ages, from magnetic chess boards to Adult Mad Libs , and we’re not about to review them all here. (You know what kinds of games you like to play.) So instead we’ll tell you about the game we chose, Chat Pack: Fun Questions to Spark Conversations .

I am, as a rule, generally wary of anything designed to prompt conversation. But by day three of our trip, with 1,100 miles behind us and 400 miles ahead, my then girlfriend (now wife) reached for Chat Pack and told me it was time.

It’s hit or miss with Chat Pack. Some of the questions are oddly inspiring, if clunkily written: “What is one item you own that has virtually no monetary value but has such sentimental value that you would not sell it for $1,000?” So, what item do I have that has no value but remains precious? My grandmother’s wire glove stretchers. And that became an hour-long conversation.

Some of the questions were abrupt duds: “If rain could fall in any scent, what scent would you want it to be?” “Like rain,” we both answered. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh rain? The feeling of camaraderie in the car was strong; we agreed that it was a dumb question. We were a young couple on an open road in full accordance with each other, and that’s not a moment you take lightly.

So get a Chat Pack. Your mileage may vary. But this pack helped us pass the time, and it takes up barely any space.

Make time in your trip for the detours. If there’s one bit of non-gear-related advice we can give, it’s that the complicated route always proves to be more interesting. There will be times in the car when a sort of tunnel vision can set in, and the destination becomes all-consuming. At my worst, as I pressed down on the accelerator, I found myself mentally calculating the time saved for every increase in miles per hour—as if the scenery I was flying past wasn’t what I’d come to see in the first place.

The first time we pulled over without a plan was on some Bureau of Land Management stretch east of Zion National Park in Utah. We were alone, on an outcropping overlooking a shallow canyon. Someone had built an impromptu fire pit. But somehow it wasn’t until we finished lunch that we realized there was no point in going any farther.

You can find many ways to plan a trip. But once in a while, take a risk and make a left when all the maps and devices are telling you to go right. You won’t know where you’ll end up—and that’s the whole point.

Athlon Optics Midas ED

The best binoculars for nearly everyone.

Amazingly affordable with great optics, these binoculars offer performance comparable to that of many models costing thousands more.

Binoculars might not be a necessity. But when you’re standing on the edge of a trail in Zion National Park and looking for nesting peregrine falcons or lying at the edge of your campsite in Joshua Tree watching a pack of coyotes move under a full moon, will a good pair of binoculars come in handy? Yes. Yes it will.

The waterproof and lightweight Athlon Optics Midas ED binoculars boast a rugged shock-absorbing exterior. And this pair’s optical clarity and extra-wide field of view allow you to see more of the scene, more clearly and accurately. In fact, the professional ornithologist who tested binoculars for us said that things looked every bit as good through the Athlon binoculars as they looked through his $2,500 Leica Ultravid pair.

And the optics of the Midas ED pair aren’t the only strong suit: These are exceptionally durable binoculars that easily withstood the humid, dusty, and hostile environment of the Mexican rain forest and the harsh sun of the Californian desert. Also, their focus dial adjusts reliably and smoothly across a wide range of depths, making it easy for you to focus on what you’re trying to see, no matter where it is.

Stowable tote or daypack

It’s always a good idea to have a bag on hand for spontaneous off-the-road excursions. But anything that will take up space on a trip needs to be functional enough to hold cameras, snacks, jackets, maps, and souvenirs. And it needs to be durable enough to survive beach trips, sightseeing excursions, picnics, and museum tours.

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Travel Day Pack

A pack that won’t crowd your trunk.

Toss this lightweight, phone-sized packable bag into your trunk or under your seat, and you’ll never get caught without a spare bag again. If you need something to carry every day, though, you’ll probably prefer one of our more-structured picks.

After researching dozens of packable daypacks across a spectrum of portability, features, and prices, and then packing, unpacking, loading, wearing, and drenching the top-rated finalists during multiple rounds of testing, we’ve found that the Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Travel Day Pack is the smallest and lightest packable backpack of the bunch. Packed up, it is very discreet, nearly the size of a keychain accessory. The bag itself is a no-frills sack made from a paper-thin siliconized Cordura nylon, so it’s very light and water resistant. The Ultra-Sil bag also has reinforced stitching at stress points, which allows it to carry more weight than you might expect. That said, since this pack is made of such thin, light material, carrying large or awkwardly shaped loads is somewhat uncomfortable, especially in comparison with our more structured picks.

If lightness, waterproofing, comfort, and organization are more important to you, check out the alternative picks in our review of packable daypacks for travel .

Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+

An easy-to-spread physical sunscreen.

This physical sunscreen lotion absorbs easily and is free of added fragrance. Though this water-resistant formula can feel greasy, like most physical sunscreens, and leave behind a white cast (especially on darker skin), we’ve found its dependable coverage to be worth the trade-off.

On most road trips you’ll be exposed to the sun, whether it’s your arm out the window or your legs and neck during a pit stop, so we recommend bringing our favorite sunscreens along for everyone to apply. (The one exception: your youngest passengers. Do not put sunscreen on an infant. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends keeping children who are younger than 6 months out of the sun entirely.) Although most sunscreens containing only physical UV blockers are notoriously harder to spread and more visible on skin than sunscreens with chemical UV filters, Blue Lizard’s Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+ formula spreads relatively quickly and easily, and it absorbs nicely. Formulated with both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, this sunscreen provides broad-spectrum protection, from both UVA and UVB rays. Blue Lizard says this formulation, which contains no added fragrance, is sweat resistant and water resistant for 80 minutes (the highest such claim allowed by the FDA). It comes in bottles that uniquely change color, from white to blue, in the presence of harmful UV light.

Banana Boat Light As Air Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+

A lightweight, oxybenzone-free chemical sunscreen.

Although it contains added fragrance, this easy-to-apply chemical sunscreen lotion doesn’t have an overpowering sunscreen-y scent. It rubs in nearly transparently and appears colorless on most skin tones.

Banana Boat Light As Air Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+ is our favorite chemical sunscreen that doesn’t contain oxybenzone. Fairly runny and lightweight, it blends seamlessly into a variety of skin tones. Although it contains added fragrance, it’s not strongly scented. It’s water resistant for up to the maximum-allowable claim (per FDA guidelines) of 80 minutes, and it costs far less per ounce than our physical-sunscreen pick.

Having an emergency kit in your car is a great idea for day-to-day driving, but it’s pretty much a necessity for long-distance road trips. Although it’s tempting to buy a preassembled kit and be done with it, we haven’t found a great one yet. Even the most promising options suffer from having jumper cables that are too short, too thin, or both. Basically, if you want a good kit, you have to make it yourself, and we’re here to help.

We spent hours researching and testing each of these essentials to confirm that they’ll be useful in case of an emergency, whether it’s your own or someone else’s.

On a desolate stretch of two-lane highway in northern Arizona, we were driving behind a rental camper van just as it had a rear-tire blowout after hitting a rumble strip. The couple driving the van couldn’t find their jack, didn’t know where the spare tire was, and had come to a stop just past a low dip in the road. It wasn’t a good scene. But it couldn’t have happened at a better time (for them, at least), and it gave us a great opportunity to put our emergency gear to the test.

It’s also wise to get a membership to a roadside assistance program. We don’t have a single best recommendation for everyone, since your options and needs vary depending on what car you have, how you use it, and where you live, but here’s a good guide by Popular Mechanics on what to look for in choosing a plan. Basically, make sure your plan fits your needs. For example, if you live in a city, 3 miles of free towing may be enough. But if you’re going on a road trip across the desert, paying for more range is worthwhile.

First-aid kit

First Aid Only 298 Piece All-Purpose First Aid Kit (FAO-442)

All the basics.

This kit is chock-full of bandages and cleaning supplies that are suitable for minor incidents.

On the road, a first-aid kit is useful for keeping someone comfortable until people with real medical expertise can help. It’s much more important to have a basic kit with you—and to be sure that the bandages haven’t degraded and the disinfectants haven’t expired—than to have a 432-item, war-zone-worthy kit sitting at home.

We like the First Aid Only 298 Piece All-Purpose First Aid Kit . It lacks some of the higher-quality tools that we recommend for a wilderness first-aid kit , but it comes with plenty of bandages, alcohol prep pads, pain relievers, and equipment to treat up to four people’s minor cuts and scrapes on a weekend trip. (For an extensive list and comparison chart, see our full guide .)

Snow shovel

Voilé Telepro Mini Avalanche Shovel

The best car shovel.

This small shovel slices through icy snow and can be disassembled for car storage. It isn’t cheap, but it’s what we’d want to have in a roadside emergency.

After spending two years researching car shovels and testing five contenders, we found that the best one to keep in the trunk for an emergency is the Voilé Telepro Mini Avalanche Shovel .

The tool, popular with ski patrols and people clearing backcountry trails, has a solid metal scoop and a two-piece handle that clicks together to form a sturdy shovel. Our tester keeps the Voilé shovel in her truck every winter, and it has come in handy more times than she can count. Though the Voilé shovel is too short to be a primary shovel, it’s perfect for any kind of fast shoveling. When you aren’t using it, you can tuck its three pieces neatly under a car seat or in the back.

Accu-Gage RRA60X

The best tire gauge we’ve found.

This is the favored tire gauge of all the professionals we interviewed.

May be out of stock

Checking your car’s tire pressure (including that of the spare tire) is like flossing: It’s something that everyone should do but many people don’t do. Proper inflation is vital . Too much, and you’ll feel every bump and have more difficulty stopping your car; too little, and your tires will wear faster. Worse, they’ll also overheat, which can separate the treads and blow the tires, something we saw happen right in front of us in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. Don’t let that happen to you.

When we asked three different San Francisco Bay Area tire shops which gauge they used, they all pointed to the Accu-Gage 60 PSI gauge with shock protector . After our testing, which included road-tripping with the tool ourselves, the Accu-Gage model has emerged as our favorite tire gauge for several years running. It’s accurate and durable, and unlike a digital gauge, it has no battery to wear out. The Accu-Gage model is available in several different configurations , but the performance is largely the same. We prefer a version with a hose attached and a straight chuck, because that design makes it easier to hold the gauge and check the tire pressure at the same time. The version we tested even comes with a removable rubber bumper in case you drop it.

Portable jump starter

A portable jump starter is essentially a lightweight battery attached to two jumper cables that you use to jump-start your car. It’s easier, safer, and less intimidating than old-fashioned jumper cables that you attach to another car—and it’s something that you can use if you’re alone, instead of waiting for roadside service/a kind stranger/a friend/a relative to show up and bail you out.

Weego Jump Starter 44s

Staff-favorite jump starter.

This jump starter has the right safety features and contains enough juice in a small package to start most cars and SUVs.

Wirecutter has recommended Weego gear since we first published our guide to portable jump starters in 2017. Guide writer Mark Smirniotis researched 40 lithium-ion jump starters and tested 12. Two Weego portable jump starters (both of which are now discontinued) became picks: the Weego 22s (the top pick; about $60) and the Weego 44 (the upgrade pick; about $150). Though we no longer maintain that full guide, many of us at Wirecutter still keep a Weego jump starter in our cars . But now, in many cases, it’s an updated version, namely the affordable Weego 44s , which hovers around the same price as the 22s model, its less powerful predecessor.

Measuring 5.62 by 3.44 by 1.04 inches (LWD), the Weego 44s jump starter is about the same size as a cell phone in length and width. It also weighs less than a pound (around 12 ounces, according to my kitchen scale) and has safety features that help prevent you from hurting your car or yourself: If you incorrectly attach the jump starter to your battery (which can potentially damage the battery or your car’s electrical system), the unit’s reverse-polarity protection feature activates, issuing a red light and an alarm alerting you not to proceed.

The Weego 44s is rated to work with a wide range of vehicles, including gas engines up to 7 liters and diesel engines up to 3.5 liters. It can jump-start pretty much any gas- or diesel-powered passenger-vehicle engine—anything from a Mini Cooper (2 liters or less) to a Dodge Ram (as much as 6.7 liters)—and it fits that power into a package that’s small enough for most glove boxes.

The Weego 44s comes partially charged out of the box and takes about 2.5 hours to charge from zero. A USB-A–to–Micro-USB charging cord is included, but it doesn’t come with a charging cube, so you need to plug the USB-A end into your own USB phone charger that works in regular household outlets or use an outlet with a USB-A port . According to the company, the unit can stay charged for more than a year in storage, though you should make sure to top it off every three to six months. With regular use, it’s rated to last for about three to five years or up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Plus, it can provide multiple jumps before it needs a recharge itself (five lights on the side of the unit indicate its remaining battery life).

The Weego 44s has checks and balances to ensure that you safely jump-start a car, but its lithium-ion polymer battery comes with certain caveats. Though the manufacturer indicates that the unit will operate in temps of -4 °F to 140 °F, leaving it in a car in extremely hot or cold conditions is not a great idea. “Most devices that contain a lithium-ion battery, whether it’s your smartphone or a portable jump starter, should not spend long periods of time in extreme temperatures since it can cause permanent damage to the battery,” says Wirecutter senior staff writer and battery expert Sarah Witman. “You should also keep in mind that car engines need more power to get started in freezing temperatures, so it’s especially important to keep your jump starter fully charged when driving in cold climates.”

Jumper cables

If you’re a die-hard jumper-cable partisan, make sure that the cables you get are long enough for most scenarios and thick enough to carry sufficient current to jump most vehicles.

Lifeline AAA Heavy Duty 16-foot 6 Gauge Booster Cables

The best cable option.

This cable is long and durable enough for any situation, with a current rating that can handle SUVs.

After scrutinizing the specs of dozens of jumper-cable options and having an electrical engineer analyze three top-rated models, we recommend Lifeline’s AAA Heavy Duty 16-foot 6 Gauge Booster Cables . As this image illustrates, these cables are long and thick enough for most situations, and their 400-amp current rating means they can handle most vehicles, even trucks and SUVs. They also come with a surprisingly sturdy and convenient mesh storage bag.

One thing that sets these Lifeline cables apart from other cables we found on Amazon is that the 6-gauge description is accurate. For example, Capri sells a 4-gauge, 20-foot cable that reviewers say is closer to 8-gauge. That’s no good, because thinner cables can fail to deliver sufficient current to start trucks, SUVs, and other larger vehicles.

If you’re unfamiliar with how to use jumper cables, familiarize yourself . But lest you forget, Lifeline includes a handy diagram in the bag. The important thing to keep in mind: Do not attach the black clamp to the black post of the dead battery. Instead, clamp it to an unpainted metal surface under the hood. Also, don’t touch the exposed parts of the clamps together while the cables are hooked up to a battery; they will spark.

Decked x BoxoUSA Tool Bag with Tool Roll

For the at-home mechanic.

This tool roll is designed for off-road emergencies. The handy roll and its mix-and-match tool configurations offer almost everything necessary to keep a vehicle on the road.

If you don’t own any tools for car maintenance, this kit is a great start. With 65 individual tools, the Decked x BoxoUSA Tool Bag with Tool Roll has nearly every tool that a home mechanic (especially those who own a truck) might need to keep their vehicle on the road. As the kit was designed originally for off-roading, bringing the whole thing and all its contents would be overkill for most people (the entire kit weighs 31 pounds). But selecting the necessities—the ratchet and wrench set, for instance—depending on the kind of journey you’re planning is easy and efficient due to the built-in compartmentalization. Included within the kit are combination wrenches, sockets, impact sockets, hex and torx keys, breaker bars, and a family of hammers, pliers, and screwdrivers. The heavy-duty Cordura nylon bag is built to last, too. If you’re at all interested in doing some of your own car maintenance, or if you want to be prepared in case of emergency, this toolkit offers a solid foundation.

Petzl Actik Core

A rechargeable headlamp.

This headlamp emits bright light with the highest beam quality. And it stays charged for days, whether you charge it via USB or use AAA batteries. It’s the perfect headlamp for backpacking trips.

We’ve been testing headlamps since 2012, including our latest round of research and testing in 2022. For a road trip, we like the Petzl Actik Core because it’s rechargeable, so you won’t ever get caught with a dead battery, as long as you have a USB car charger on hand. Its 450-lumen light ranks among the brightest of all our picks. (As of early 2023, the Actik Core was updated and now has a 600-lumen beam ; we’re currently testing the new version.)

Twice during our trip we pulled into our camping site late, and our headlamp was the first thing we reached for. Knowing that it was always charged meant that we didn’t have to hunt for batteries or use our car lights and disturb neighboring campers.

Right out of the box, the Actik Core was easy to use. It has just one button and three brightness options: low (6 lumens), medium (100 lumens), and high (450 lumens). If you hold down the button for several seconds, the color turns to red; double-pressing lets you access the strobe setting. Compared with some other rechargeable headlamps, which require complicated button-press configurations to reach the desired setting, we found this one to be simpler, though we lamented its lack of a flood beam. We also liked the double-button setup of the Black Diamond Spot 400 and the Vitchelo V800 a bit better than the Actik Core’s single button.

Flare alternative

StonePoint LED Emergency Beacon

The best emergency beacon.

Crushproof and waterproof, this set of three beacons comes with magnets for car mounting. And these are much safer than traditional flares.

To keep yourself safe while your car is parked on the side of the road, we suggest StonePoint LED Emergency Beacon flare alternatives.

We like the StonePoint set because, for the price of one high-intensity model like the PowerFlare device, you get three separate lights that are all crushproof to 20,000 pounds, waterproof, magnetic, and easy to set up and turn on. The magnets are important because they let you mount the beacons on your car, which adds height; having a flare anywhere above the surface of the road greatly increases your visibility. By putting one on the road (preferably elevated on something and located about 100 feet before your car), another on the trunk, and another on the hood, you create a very visible early warning for drivers.

Traditional magnesium flares will almost always be brighter and more visible. But their hazards—both to your health and to the environment around you—are substantial. (Read the health and environmental hazards section in this report [PDF] for a breakdown of the risks and the potentially harmful chemicals involved.) Combine that with the fact that you can mitigate any differences in visibility simply by elevating an electric flare, and you end up with a compelling argument against using traditional flares.

Of the three beacon models we tested, we couldn’t figure out how to open or turn on the Wagan model. And the Smittybilt U.F.O. safety light, though tough, wasn’t especially effective during the day and came only one to a package. Only the StonePoint beacons were easy to fill with batteries and place on the road exactly when we needed them. They also happened to be the brightest flare alternatives we had with us.

I should take a moment here and repeat what the responding officer told us when he arrived on the scene. Regardless of what safety beacons you have laid out behind you, “Stay off the road, and when in doubt stay in your car.”

Leatherman Skeletool CX

The best multi-tool.

This light, slim multi-tool is easy to carry and built to last.

No emergency kit is complete without a multi-tool. Most minor situations—such as a loose Phillips-head screw or a need to create a rag for checking your oil—are easily fixed as long as you have the right tool. Multi-tools are small enough to carry in a jeans pocket or to attach to a belt, so you can take a set of useful tools almost anywhere. Our choice is the Leatherman Skeletool CX , which comes with pliers, a bit driver, a pocket clip, and a carabiner/bottle opener, in addition to a high-quality, 2.6-inch 154CM carbon-fiber stainless steel blade. The Skeletool CX stood out from the other 22 multi-tools we tested because it focuses on the functionality, ergonomics, and solid construction of a few essential tools, instead of cramming dozens of different tools into a single bulky body that makes it difficult to use. That means it’s easy to carry but still has just about everything you could possibly need (short of a hammer and a socket set) to make an emergency repair in the field and on the road.

Duck Brand Max Strength Duct Tape

The best duct tape.

This tape is super strong and sticky, flexible enough to wrap around corners, and easy to tear in a clean, straight line.

If you can’t duct it, fuhgeddaboudit . We tested the heck out of 11 rolls of duct tape and chose Duck Max Strength tape above the competition for its perfect blend of attributes, namely high material strength, a strong adhesive, and superior overall flexibility for easy wrapping around odd shapes and curved surfaces. Is it an absolute necessity on the road? No. But the moment you need to fix a ripped tent wall or to keep unruly motel shades shut, you’ll be glad you packed some duct tape. It can even handle first-aid duties when the right materials for the job are unavailable. Duct tape is, as any MacGyver fan will tell you, a very useful tool.

Reliance 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer

The best water jug.

This water jug holds enough water for two people for two days, and it has a spill-proof screw-on vent cap.

The general rule for water in an emergency is that one person needs one gallon of water for one day. But four to five gallons is a good amount to throw into your trunk—enough to get you through being stranded, even with a passenger. You should increase that estimate if you plan to go out in the middle of nowhere, or if your travels take you to a desert region or some other dry place. We found on our trip through the Southwest that we were refilling our water bottles a lot more than we were stopping for gas.

After researching 16 different types of water jugs, we recommend the Reliance 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer for most situations. The Reliance jug has two standout features: a screw-on vent cap and a spigot cap that reverses in on itself when not in use. These features work together to prevent major spills. The screw-on vent cap doesn’t come undone, unlike the pull-top vents on some competitors, which tend to pop open and spill water as soon as you hit anything other than the smoothest roadways. Spigot caps can be a weakness for some jugs, too. In contrast, when not in use, the Reliance jug’s spigot unscrews and drops into the jug itself, sealing up the whole canister nice and tight. On our road trip, we used the 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer, which can provide water for two people for two days; for more people, consider the 7-Gallon Aqua-Tainer .

The Reliance Aqua-Tainer jug is made from BPA-free molded plastic. It’s easy to pack around in the trunk of a car—certainly easier than large, bladder-type jugs (like the MSR Dromedary Bag ), which, though excellent for camp showers and good for a backpack, are too difficult to pack around in a trunk because of their non-rigid shape. The Aqua-Tainer’s hard sides also make it easier to use for dispensing water from, say, the roof of your car. But be sure to throw a shirt or towel under the Aqua-Tainer before setting it atop your car like this: We learned the hard way that the molded plastic edge can scratch your car’s paint job if you’re not careful.

Before investing in a jug, you should know that water kept in plastic bottles won’t harm you, even if left in a hot car . A 24-pack of Poland Spring is not environmentally kind, but it is safe for a brief trip. Avoid gallon jugs, since they’re typically made out of HDPE plastic, which punctures easily. (Such jugs also have caps that pop off easily.) We wouldn’t buy collapsible jugs, either, since they are prone to leaks and are unruly when pouring.

It takes only a few minutes to get your vehicle checked out for a proper road trip. When in doubt, or when preparing for an especially long trip, see a mechanic first. There are plenty of potential mechanical troubles that a professional can identify—and that you’d rather learn about in their shop than on the side of a highway. Use these tips to determine where to go for help, based on the age of your car and what you need done.

• Dealership service departments: newer vehicles covered by factory warranty, or when specialized service is required
• Independent mechanics: general maintenance items such as brakes, steering, suspension, exhaust, and fluid changes
• Quick oil/lube centers: oil changes only

Getting word-of-mouth advice from family and friends remains a very good way to find reputable mechanics. Sites such as RepairPal and Yelp are also helpful. And don’t forget to check local Facebook community groups.

The vehicle inspection: Six key areas

• Under the hood: Check the engine oil, transmission fluid, engine coolant, windshield wipers, washer fluid, and brake fluid.

• Tires: Check for proper inflation and good tread that doesn’t show uneven wear. For inflation, consult your owner’s manual to find your tires’ recommended PSI; don’t go by what’s printed on the side of your tire, which is the maximum PSI. For tread wear, stick a penny into the center (not the edge) of each tire’s treads, with Lincoln’s head facing down—if you can still see the top of Lincoln’s head, the tire is worn out. Also, if you have a spare tire, check it and make sure that a jack and a lug-nut wrench still accompany it. If you don’t have a spare, consider getting one from a dealer or a salvage yard. Or invest in an emergency roadside repair and inflation kit—like the Slime 50107 Smart Spair Emergency Tire Repair Kit —which includes sealant for small punctures as well as a small air compressor for reinflating tires. At the very least, bring along a portable sealer kit like Fix-A-Flat , but be aware that these options work only on very small punctures in the tread and could ultimately require you to replace your whole tire. So it’s really better to have a spare, if possible.

• Lights: Check all the bulbs, including the turn signals, headlights (high and low beam), brake lights, parking lamps, reverse lights, and license-plate lights.
• Smell test: You can sniff out potential problems in your car by paying attention to its odors.
• Sulfur/rotten-egg smell: You have trouble with your exhaust or emission system that could be dangerous. Get your car to a mechanic immediately.
• Sweet smell: This scent indicates an engine coolant leak; the smell could be strong when you’re using the heater, and accompanied by fogged-up glass. The coolant is toxic, and when it runs out, your engine will overheat.
• Burning carpet/paper smell: Your brakes are hot. Smelling this after you’ve used your brakes hard (such as after coming down a mountain) is not unusual. But if you smell this while you’re driving around normally, it means your brakes might be stuck, which is a serious problem.
• Musty/mildew smell: This odor is generally attributable to water getting stuck in the ductwork for your heating and air conditioning. It usually indicates that a drain plug is blocked, which you sometimes can fix just by running your fan on high for a few minutes.
• Burning rubber smell: Unless you’re doing burnouts, this smell can be caused by slipping engine belts or a tire rubbing. In these cases, the smell is usually accompanied by a noise, namely squealing (with belts) or grinding (with a tire rubbing).
• Noise test: Cars make lots of noises, and the following are some that should get your undivided attention.
• Clunking or rattling over bumps: This sound can indicate a variety of problems with the steering or suspension, but it often points to worn plastic or rubber bushings that allow contact between metal components. In extreme cases, these components can fail, causing major damage or even loss of control if the vehicle is moving.
• Clicking or groaning sounds when turning: Clicking is a sign of imminent axle shaft failure on front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicles, so get to a mechanic immediately if you hear this sound. Groaning noises are less serious and occur because of a lack of lubrication in steering components or bushings.
• Loud humming that increases steadily with speed: This sound almost always points to a bad wheel bearing, especially if the noise gets louder or quieter when the car is turning.
• Grinding, squeaking, or squealing when stopping: Squeaking and squealing happen when the brake pads are worn and need replacing. Grinding means the pads are already gone, and you’re pushing metal against metal when you stop.
• Feel test: The following are a few situations that should warrant a visit to the shop.
• Soft or spongy brake pedal: Brakes should be firm; a soft pedal means something is wrong. Either you have a mechanical problem or the brake fluid is leaking.
• Shimmies or vibrations: These sensations usually indicate that a rim is bent or that a tire is out of balance, but they can also be signs of loose steering or suspension parts.

Pre-trip planning

Before heading out, check these commonly taken-for-granted aspects of road-tripping.

• Update your GPS system. Factory-installed GPS devices generally receive updates once a year and require CDs, SD cards, or USB thumb drives purchased from the manufacturer for installation through a dealership. Mobile third-party GPS units get updates throughout the year, and you can install the updates via most home PCs through a simple download from the GPS manufacturer’s website.
• Make sure that you have maps or a paper atlas. Sometimes technology fails. Having a current map for backup is always a good idea.
• Make sure you’re covered by a roadside assistance program. Auto-club programs are the most common source of roadside assistance plans, with companies such as AAA and Good Sam offering coverage to members regardless of what vehicle they drive or its age. Most new cars, however, come with complimentary roadside assistance that lasts a certain number of miles or a certain number of years, whichever happens first. So check your owner’s manual (and read the fine print, since these plans can be very limited). Many auto insurance companies also provide vehicle-specific roadside assistance, usually for a monthly fee. Some credit card companies offer a mix of complimentary and basic fee services, and even cell phone companies are now offering basic services to customers. Verizon’s roadside assistance plan costs $5 per month and covers any vehicle, as long as the phone is present. Most of these plans have limitations and plenty of fine print to study, so carefully review your coverage before hitting the road.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

Meet your guides

Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.

Wirecutter Staff

Mentioned above

• After extensive research and field testing, we found that the Graco SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX is the best infant car seat for most families. The Best Infant Car Seats  
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Further reading

Road-Trip Essentials

by Eve O'Neill

We spend a lot of time driving each year, and this is our list of essential road-trip gear to include in your packing list.

Traveling With Little Kids Can Be Tough. The Right Gear Can Help.

by Kerry Davis McGuinness

From compact car seats and cribs to portable blackout shades and white noise machines, the right tools for travel can lead to less fuss—and more fun.

The Gadgets We Bring on Every Trip

by Haley Perry

You don't have to be a digital nomad to travel like one. Here are a few gadgets and accessories to make travel as painless as possible.

How to Sleep Well (or at Least Better) While Traveling

by Christine Ryan

Our sleep and travel editors recommend gear for coping with travel-induced insomnia, vetted through hours of testing and years of personal experience.

• Scenic Drives
• Road Trip Planner

Road Trip Planning Made Easy

Create custom day trips, weekend getaways, and cross country adventures worldwide

Powerful features for planning your epic road trips (and the shorter adventures in between)

Unlimited stops.

Add unlimited stops and sub-stops. Combine your own stops with our pre-planned routes and recommended places of interest.

Smart Scheduling

By the minute, hour, or overnight, set preferences for each stop. Export your trip to your own Calendar.

Set Vehicle Type

Car, RV, camper trailer, truck, motorcycle, pulling a boat? Get a realistic estimate of driving time. Adjust travel speed by percentages for each unique situation.

Divide Trips Into Days

Divide your trips into manageable driving days based on your custom settings by time or distance. And of course you can customize each day differently.

Route Preferences

Configure route preferences such as avoiding highways or tolls for each day or any segment of your trip.

Use Any Device

Plan trips from your desktop computer, iPad, Android tablet, and mobile phone with the same easy-to-use interface. No app to download or software to install.

Automated To Do List guides you through the road trip planning process.

Manage Your Budget

Track expenditures before you go and along the way. See a summary of expenses for entrance fees, activities, restaurants, and lodging, etc.

Gas Calculator

See the estimated fuel cost for your vehicle type.

EV Charging

Find EV charging stations along your route. Get reminders to recharge. Use Charging Ranges to display icons on the map where your vehicle will require recharging.

Export Options

We support Google Earth (KML), Garmin Communicator, BaseCamp and MapSource (GPX), Co-Pilot Live (TRP), Microsoft Streets and Trips, TomTom itineraries (ITN), TomTom Places of Interest (OV2), Comma Separated Files (CSV), and Tab Separated Files (TSV).

Directions on paper come in handy. Print your road trip with turn-by-turn maps and full directions, divided into your day-by-day itinerary.

Is This Really Free?

Yes! It is free to use our Scenic Drive Itineraries and Road Trip Planner. Please consider purchasing your National Park or National Forest passes on myscenicdrives.com.

Why Do I Need An Account?

A free account is only required for the Road Trip Planner, enabling you to create, edit, and save your trips. Your account is secure. We never share your information.

Do I Need to Download An App or Install Software?

No app or software is needed. myscenicdrives.com works in any browser. Simply go to myscenicdrives.com

More Resources

Documentation, myscenicdrives.com, how it works.

Cars for sale

Sell my car, car research, sign in, 6 of the best road trip cars, trucks, and suvs of 2022, if you're planning a road trip this summer, these are some of the best new vehicles for covering long distances and seeing the country..

Article QuickTakes:

• The best road trip car for the entire family
• Best road trip car for eating miles
• Here’s the best road trip vehicle for hauling and towing
• Environmentalists’ best road trip SUV

A road trip done well is a rite of passage, a great way to see the country while maintaining the freedom to explore whatever catches your eye along the way. Combine a fun itinerary with the right vehicle, and you've got a recipe for a good time over even the straightest highways.

Here are our picks for the best road trip cars, trucks, and SUVs you can buy in 2022.

The Best for the Path Less Traveled: Land Rover Defender 110

The Best for Back-Road Thrills: Lexus LC 500

Balancing a comfortable, opulent cabin with the kind of pleasing driving dynamics typically reserved for sports cars, the 2022  Lexus   LC 500 is a fantastic grand touring coupe that also provides the option of a convertible model. The LC 500 is one of the most beautifully styled autos on the market. Its eight-cylinder thrust and planted handling make it the perfect companion on road trips that eschew the dull confines of the interstate for the undulating ribbons of two-lane blacktop that connect us to our very souls.

The Best for the Entire Family: Kia Carnival

When it comes to family transportation, not much can beat a minivan, especially when it comes to filling all three rows with full-size adults. The  2022 Kia Carnival features one of the most opulent cabins in its class, with the availability of reclining middle-row seats and an upscale interior to go with its exceptional levels of interior storage and luggage space. If the entire clan is coming with you, a minivan is an ideal road-tripper, and the Carnival’s coddled cruising makes it one of the best road trip cars of 2022.

The Best for Eating Miles: Bentley Flying Spur

There are plenty of ultra-luxury sedans out there that will gracefully devour however many miles of tarmac you place in front of them. However, far fewer prioritize driver engagement as much as the 2022  Bentley Flying Spur.

Able to shift from lazy loping to focused frenzy with a kick of the right foot, the Flying Spur is the kind of car where you'll snatch the keys out of your chauffeur's hands when the roads start to get interesting.

The Best for Hauling and Towing: Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

What if you need to take the entire family with you… plus a pair of bicycles, a kayak, a bale of hay, and maybe tug a camping trailer to boot? The  2022 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel full-size pickup features a luxurious cabin plus a generous 2,300-pound payload and 12,750-lb max tow rating, making it one of the best road trip trucks of 2022. You'll also appreciate an air suspension that lowers the truck at speed, resulting in a highway fuel economy estimate as high as 33 mpg.

The Best for Road-Tripping Environmentalists: Tesla Model X

What if you wanted to cross the U.S. and not burn gasoline? Enter the  Tesla Model X midsize SUV, the largest model available from the pioneering, battery-electric carmaker. The X can seat up to seven and be driven an estimated 348 miles between charges. And thanks to Tesla's Supercharger network (with more than 35,000 chargers globally), it's also one of the most practical EVs for long-distance driving.

Related Articles

From mountains to private racetracks, car manufacturers have some awesome test beds.

An off-road test drive reveals Toyota's new Cruiser is capable of tackling trails too tough for a crossover SUV.

How to interpret the numbers and letters on the back of a BMW.

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• © OpenStreetMap
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The Best Road Trip Cars From Every Category

When "Head out on the highway" is more than just a line from a song to you, these are the cars to buy.

Civic Hatchback

Embarking on an epic road trip adventure requires the perfect companion, and selecting the ideal car for the journey can significantly impact your experience. In an era where sustainability and efficiency take center stage, the realm of road trip vehicles has transformed. From the ever-expanding array of electric vehicles to power-oriented marvels, the choices have never been more exhilarating. The question is simple: What is the best car for long-distance driving?

That's a loaded question, so today, we'll explore the best road trip cars in 10 different segments, guiding you through options that guarantee comfort, dependability, and the freedom to navigate extensive distances effortlessly. Whether plotting a picturesque coastal drive, a cross-country odyssey, or a quick weekend escape, these road trip-ready vehicles will enhance the journey, and perhaps even the destination. Prepare to embark on your open-road adventure with unwavering confidence as we unveil the top contenders in the domain of road-trip cars.

The Hatchback: 2024 Honda Civic Hatch

The latest Civic Hatchback keeps its enjoyable driving dynamics intact despite being a more grown-up car than any Civic before it. In base form, its 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder produces an ample 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque, while a turbocharged 1.5-liter ups the stakes to 180 hp and 177 lb-ft. Plus, if you're still of the old-school persuasion and like to be in control of the experience, you can get a six-speed manual gearbox in the Sport and Sport Touring trims - or a CVT if you prefer to relax.

With combined EPA ratings of up to 35 mpg in turbo guise and 33 mpg in base form, the Civic is light on gas, and starting at an MSRP of $24,950, it's light on your bank account from the get-go.

Combine its mechanical attributes with a spacious cabin and large trunk (24.5 cubic feet behind the rear seats), and it's a winner already. Factor in a full suite of connectivity options like a seven-inch touchscreen and matching digital gauge cluster (nine- and 10.2 inches respectively on the Sport Touring), and you have one of the most complete long-distance vehicles on the market and a perfect family road trip car.

The Crossover: 2024 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

This fuel-efficient road trip car boasts a hybrid system, achieving an impressive 38 mpg combined EPA rating. The hybrid powertrain comprises a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder with electric augmentation, paired to a six-speed automatic gearbox, producing 226 hp and 258 lb-ft.

Whether traveling with a full crew or just a few, the standard all-wheel drive ensures surefootedness over any surface and in any climate through sun, snow, and rain.

Ideal for family road trips, it boasts a comfortable and spacious interior equipped with rear USB ports and a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Five seats with ample rear legroom enhance the appeal of this compact crossover, and its generous 38.7-cu-ft trunk accommodates all your gear. You can use all five seats, or drop the 60:40-split rear seats to carry larger items. Starting at $32,325, the Tucson Hybrid ticks all the right boxes .

The Sports Car: 2024 Mustang GT Coupe

While there may be many options in contention for the title of the best sports car , we maintain when it comes to road trips, the Mustang has them all soundly beaten. A new generation has arrived for 2024, sporting updated styling and a new fighter jet-inspired interior with larger infotainment and digital gauge cluster screens.

Under the hood, the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 has been upgraded and now produces 36 hp more in the 2024 Mustang GT than the old model, totaling 486 hp. It comes with a six-speed manual transmission or an optional 10-speed auto, which may be better suited to long-distance cruising.

Should the road get twisty on your journey, the Mustang GT's combination of power, noise, and agility means an entertaining road trip is in the cards, and the supportive Recaro front seats hold you in place comfortably. Ample rear legroom - yes, it's a four-seater sports car - and a 13.5 cubic foot trunk make it practical too, and since you can get it as a coupe or a convertible, it's perfect for summer road trips.

The Wagon: 2024 Volvo V60 Cross Country

The Volvo V60 Cross Country excels in various aspects such as space, speed, off-road capability, etc. This versatile vehicle is a gem for road trips and an overall top-tier option. Sporting 26 mpg combined from a 250-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, its raised ground clearance and AWD give it the ability to tackle dirt roads without the hefty fuel economy of traditional SUVs.

It comes fully equipped with advanced safety features, including a rear cross-traffic alert system and traffic sign recognition, plus semi-autonomous highway driving capabilities. A five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA backs this up and ensures a safe road trip for the whole family.

It boasts an available Wi-Fi hotspot, enhancing connectivity on your journeys and keeping the kids occupied, and its spacious interior means they'll be comfortable for hours. 22.5 cubic feet of trunk space will accommodate suitcases, tents, and more; if you need extra, the fold-down rear seats let you accommodate even more. Additionally, you can add a roof-mounted bicycle rack, perfect for those with an active lifestyle, making it one of the best cars for road-tripping.

The Minivan: 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid

The $51,095 Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid harmoniously blends gas and electric power, catering to road trips with its ample combination of cargo space, people space, and frugality. Furnished with a 3.6-liter V6 augmented by electric power, it produces 260 hp. It lays down this power through a front-wheel drivetrain. If you want AWD, you can have it, but that would require the non-hybrid Pacifica.

Spacious with seating for eight occupants, it looks after the family with advanced safety features like emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane assist, and blind spot monitoring. There's versatility aplenty with Stow 'n Go seating that avails additional cargo space without physically having to remove seats from the minivan, and between 32.3 and 140.5 cubic feet.

A heated steering wheel and three-zome climate control add extra luxury, and the new Pinnacle model adds even more luxury to the road trip experience. The panoramic rearview mirror helps to keep an eye on the kids during the, 'Are we there yet' arguments.

The Truck: 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor

Should road trips in 2023 call for a more 'cross-country' experience, the Ford F-150 Raptor is the only pickup truck for the job. While the allure is strong to go for the TRX-beating Raptor R and its supercharged V8, for road trips, we think the base Raptor is better, thanks to its twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6. Not only do you get 450 hp and 510 lb-ft sent to all corners via a 10-speed automatic gearbox, but you get 15 mpg combined (instead of the R's 12 mpg). You can still tow 8,200 lbs, get a versatile truck bed, and those sweet Fox shocks that can take you to hell and back.

Inside, all F-150 models come with standard features like a 12-inch digital gauge display and Sync 4-enabled infotainment system, soft bucket seats, wireless charging, and 400W USB ports with outlets in both the cab and the bed. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. With five seats, ample power, and go-anywhere capability, the F-150 Raptor is a road-trip truck with no equal.

The Full-Size SUV: 2023 Cadillac Escalade

If you need three rows of seats, a body-on-frame chassis, an abundance of passenger and storage space, and supreme luxury, the Cadillac Escalade may be the best road trip SUV there is, even if it does cost a slip more than $80,000.

With a versatile engine lineup including a Duramax diesel six-cylinder (277 hp/460 lb-ft) and a 6.2-liter V8 (420 hp/460 lb-ft), both saddled with a buttery-smooth 10-speed automatic, the Escalade can tow up to 8,200 lbs, meaning you can take everything with you on holiday. The spacious cabin accommodates a ton of cargo, and an available long-wheelbase ESV variant even makes the third row of seating adult-friendly.

The Escalade is loaded with exceptional tech such as the 38-inch diagonal OLED display encompassing instrumentation and infotainment, and a full-color head-up display. Super Cruise hands-free driving making long-distance trips on the highway a cinch, too.

The Grand Tourer: 2024 Lexus LC Hybrid

We've chosen the LC Hybrid for this list, but we wouldn't fault you for picking any of the LC models. The standard variant packs a sonorous naturally aspirated V8 (coupe and convertible), but for covering distance, the LC 500h's 3.5-liter V6 and twin electric motors still packs a 354-hp punch while consuming considerably less fuel at 29 mpg combined vs. the V8's 19 mpg. It looks achingly gorgeous, too. The downside is an electronic CVT, but with the additional torque of the e-motors, and given the laidback cruising nature of the LC, it's a forgivable offense.

Road trip cars typically need big trunks, and the LC falls short here with only 4.7 cubic feet in hybrid form, but with 2+2 seating in which the rear seats aren't suited for passengers, there's plenty of additional storage space in the cabin.

Packed with Lexus' array of safety systems, and now featuring a decent infotainment system , the car is technologically up-to-date and safe for you and a loved one to hit the road and soak up the miles in comfort and luxury.

The Luxury Sedan: 2024 Audi S8

The 2024 Audi S8 redefines the road trip experience with its blend of luxury and performance. Beneath its hood lies a formidable 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, delivering 563 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. While everyone knows the Mercedes-AMG S63 in this segment, the Audi S8 is seen as more of a sleeper, an understated performance sedan that can lap up the miles without shouting about its 3.8-second 0-60 mph potential. Combined with the nimbleness of its rear-axle steering and the surefootedness of its all-wheel drive, it's the perfect car for almost any occasion.

Whether you're seated up front or reclining in the massaging rear seats, you're swathed in luxury and cutting-edge technology. Plush leather seats provide a sense of opulence, while the MMI Touch Response infotainment system and onboard Wi-Fi hotspot, ensure seamless connectivity and entertainment throughout your road trips, while an optional rear-seat entertainment system keeps passengers engaged on extended journeys.

The only downside is the $120,600 price tag.

The Convertible: 2023 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet

The Porsche Carrera GTS Cabriolet redefines the essence of road trips with its breadth of performance and capability. It's fast, it's comfortable, it's feature-laden, and it even has four seats - what more could you ask for? Beneath its curvaceous exterior lies a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, delivering 473 hp and 420 lb-ft, and with your choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, you get a 0-60 mph time of under 3.4 seconds and all-weather confidence.

Inside, the Carrera GTS Cabriolet pampers occupants with opulent leather seats and a cutting-edge infotainment system, including the Porsche Communication Management system. For audiophiles, the optional Burmester sound system promises exceptional audio quality, enhancing the soundtrack of your road trip.

With a front cargo area measuring 4.7 cubic feet and rear seats that can double as storage in a pinch, there's plenty of space for your luggage. Then, when the weather is right, a 12-second drop of the top lets you feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin. When the journey matters more than the destination, few cars do road trips like the 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet.

Most Comfortable Trucks in 2024

Trucks aren't merely work vehicles anymore. In fact, most aren't work trucks at all, instead being used by suburbanites as their daily drivers. With that in mind, comfort matters more than it used to, and these are today's most comfortable pickups.

Stellantis |

These Are the Most Comfortable Pickups

There was a time when pickup trucks were strictly work vehicles for the job site, the farm, the forest or anywhere that you needed serious power and capability. But as time has gone on, consumers have come to appreciate the versatility of these vehicles and now they play many more roles.

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Modern pickups are used for commuting, road trips, getting the kids to practice, hauling home improvement supplies and more. As such, the current crop of pickups has become very comfortable to accommodate this growing market for an all-around family pickup.

If you are buying a pickup for its cabin quality and comfort credentials, you have come to the right place. In the following slides, we rank the most comfortable pickup trucks on the market, based on their U.S. News & World Report interior scores.

You'll note that several vehicles have the same score. In those cases, the category win goes to the truck with the lower price. Also, keep in mind that our scores change over time as more information becomes available. Make sure to check back to see if our scores have changed.

Nissan North America, Inc. |

2024 Nissan Titan

$46,040 | interior score: 6.8/10.

The Nissan Titan comes standard with a V8 engine that makes 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. Power is routed through a nine-speed automatic transmission to standard four-wheel drive, allowing for a max tow rating of 9,290 pounds, which is less than its rivals. The Titan does come with a generous standard features list and provides a comfortable ride.

You get a lot for the base price with the Titan, and there is a choice between Extended Cab and Crew Cab body styles, with the latter providing plenty of passenger space. Even the base SV trim level boasts standard Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, two USB ports and a host of standard driver-assistance features, including adaptive cruise control.

More on the 2024 Nissan Titan

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• Read the 2024 Nissan Titan Full Review  »
• See Full Size Pickup Truck Rankings  »

2024 Jeep Gladiator

$37,895 | interior score: 7.4/10.

The Jeep Gladiator combines the best attributes of a truck with hallmark Jeep cues, such as removable doors, and a retractable/removable roof. It comes standard with a 5-foot bed, a V6 engine and four-wheel drive. It also comes standard with a Crew Cab configuration with seating for five.

The Gladiator has a durable and well-made interior. Though it can be noisy, you can have a conversation even at highway speeds. For 2024 it comes standard with a larger, 12.3-inch touch screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and three USB ports.

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• See Compact Pickup Truck Rankings  »

General Motors |

2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

$36,800 | interior score: 7.6/10.

The Chevrolet Silverado is a big and capable pickup that has helpful features like bed steps cut into the corners of the rear bumper. The Silverado is offered in Regular Cab, Double Cab and Crew Cab body styles. The latter has tons of space to stretch out, no matter where you sit.

Though other rivals have more refined interiors, we have to remember that trucks are meant to be used for work, and the Silverado is intuitive and work-ready. The standard 7-inch touch screen includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Upper trim levels have a large 13.4-inch touch screen, as well as wireless device charging and a Wi-Fi hot spot.

More on the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

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Ford Motor Company |

2024 Ford Maverick

$23,815 | interior score: 7.6/10.

The Ford Maverick highlights the benefits of a crossover-based small truck. The lack of a body-on-frame design means the cabin can be expanded to provide plenty of head- and legroom. Though the front seats are more spacious, the rear seats are roomier than most conventional compact pickup trucks.

The Maverick comes standard with manually adjustable front seats, two USB ports, remote keyless entry, a Wi-Fi hot spot and an 8-inch touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Upgraded trims feature synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats and dual-zone automatic climate control.

More on the 2024 Ford Maverick

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2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD

$45,400 | interior score: 7.7/10.

The GMC Sierra 2500HD has been updated for the 2024 model year. In addition to updated styling, it now features a standard 10-speed automatic transmission, which does a great job managing power from the assortment of potent and highly capable powertrains, including the gas-fed 6.6-liter V8 that puts out 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque.

There are several bed/cab configurations to choose from, but the most spacious is definitely the crew cab. Whether you’re in one of the front captains chairs or the rear bench, you’ll have tons of legroom and a commanding view of the road. The SLT trim adds leather upholstery, 10-way power-adjustable front seats, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel.

More on the 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD

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• See Heavy-Duty Truck Rankings  »

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. |

2024 Toyota Tundra

$39,695 | interior score: 7.7/10.

The Toyota Tundra is designed around the weekend warrior that also wants a capable vehicle for the daily grind. Instead of V8 engines, Toyota offers a selection of twin-turbo V6 and hybrid V6 powertrains. They deliver smooth acceleration, though they don’t have as much towing capacity as rivals, which fits this truck’s persona.

The Tundra has a refined yet functional cabin that boasts a modern, high-tech setup, including a standard 8-inch touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Limited trim adds synthetic leather upholstery and heated and ventilated front seats, while the even more upscale Platinum adds a panoramic sunroof, genuine leather upholstery and heated and ventilated rear seats.

More on the 2024 Toyota Tundra

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American Honda Motor Co., Inc. |

2023 Honda Ridgeline

$38,800 | interior score: 7.9/10.

Thanks to its shared DNA with the Pilot midsize SUV, the Honda Ridgeline has cabin refinement that is hard to match among smaller trucks. It comes standard in a five-passenger crew-cab configuration. In addition to its solid cabin quality, the Ridgeline has spacious, accommodating front seats and some of the best rear-seat headroom and legroom in the class.

The Ridgeline comes standard with cloth upholstery and manually adjustable front seats. Upgraded trims include a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, power-adjustable front seats and leather upholstery. The only thing holding back the Ridgeline is that its infotainment system can feel dated at times.

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2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD

$46,395 | interior score: 8.0/10.

The Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD is brimming with power and capability, thanks to its standard 401-horsepower 6.6-liter gas V8 engine. It is also available with a 6.6-liter turbodiesel V8 that makes 470 horsepower and an incredible 975 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent through a 10-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels or available four-wheel drive.

The Silverado is available in Regular Cab, Double Cab and Crew Cab body styles. The Crew Cab has four full doors and space for up to six people. The interior is designed to take a beating, and yet it's still very refined in the upscale trims.

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2024 Ram 2500

$45,250 | interior score: 8.1/10.

The Ram 2500 is unique in that it delivers as much power and rugged capability as it does cabin refinement. From behind the wheel of the burly 2500, you’ll get a near-luxury experience as you wield either the 410-horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi gas V8 or the Cummins turbodiesel that puts out 370 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque.

Cab options are a bit different with the Ram 2500. Yes, there’s a Regular Cab, but from there you can get the full Crew Cab or the even larger Mega Cab. The Mega cab provides incredible rear-seat legroom and the seats fold down, providing a massive cargo floor that’s protected from the elements and prying eyes.

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2024 Ford F-150 Lightning

$49,995 | interior score: 8.4/10.

Unlike many clean-sheet EV designs, the Ford F-150 Lightning makes it easy for truck owners to transition to an electric pickup because it’s largely an electrified F-150. Without the need for a conventional engine, the Lightning features a large front cargo area, accessed via a power open/close hood.

The F-150 Lightning comes exclusively in the four-door Super Crew configuration. Standard features on the base Pro trim include dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, a Wi-Fi hot spot and a large 12-inch touch screen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Upgraded trims provide more luxury features such as leather upholstery and ventilated front seats.

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• See Electric Pickup Truck Rankings  »

2024 Ford F-150

$36,870 | interior score: 8.5/10.

Like its EV counterpart, the conventionally powered Ford F-150 has a refined and spacious cabin that has room for you and your passengers to stretch out. The upscale trims all come in the four-door Super Crew body style, which has two rows of spacious seating. Many trims also offer leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats and a heated steering wheel.

The base F-150 XL comes standard with multiple USB ports, a Wi-Fi hot spot and, for 2024, a larger 12-inch touch screen. Upper trims boast wireless device charging, heated rear seats and a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium stereo system. The Platinum trim even includes massaging front seats.

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2024 GMC Sierra 1500

$37,700 | interior score: 8.6/10.

The GMC Sierra is capable of serious truck work, but it also has a refined side, as exemplified by the Denali and Denali Ultimate trim levels. The Denali has heated and ventilated front seats, wireless device charging and a bed-view camera. The Denali Ultimate features a 12-speaker Bose stereo and nearly every feature that’s optional on other trims, including the Super Cruise Highway driving assist system.

The Sierra Denali comes standard with a 355 horsepower V8 that puts out 383 pound-feet of torque. The Denali Ultimate comes equipped with a 6.2-liter gas-fed V8 that puts out 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. Both upscale trims also offer a 3.0-liter turbodiesel six-cylinder engine with 305 horsepower and 495 pound-feet of torque.

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2024 Ram 1500

$39,420 | interior score: 9.0/10.

The Ram 1500 is one of the most accommodating full-size, light-duty trucks on the market today. It has terrific fit-and-finish and has a level of refinement that you might sooner expect out of a luxury SUV. It offers a choice of powerful engines including the absurd 702-horsepower supercharged V8 in the Ram TRX.

The Ram 1500 is available in extended Quad Cab and full four-door Crew Cab models. The 1500 is available with multiple large, intuitive touch screen infotainment system options with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Limited trim has power side steps, premium leather upholstery and a wireless charging pad.

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2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty

$43,970 | interior score: 9.2/10.

The Ford F-250 Super Duty has been completely redesigned for 2023, and in the process checks a lot of boxes. It’s supremely capable, has tons of space and has a lineup of immensely powerful engines. Powerplants include a 400-horsepower gas V8, a 430-horsepower gas V8 and two turbodiesel engines that make 1,050 pound-feet and 1,200 pound-feet of torque, respectively.

The F-250 is offered in Regular Cab, Super Cab and Crew Cab body styles. The base XL trim comes with an 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a Wi-Fi hot spot. Lariat-and-up trims have leather upholstery as well as heated/ventilated front seats and heated rear seats, while the King Ranch trim counts unique leather upholstery, power side steps and a power tailgate among its many upgrades.

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U.S. News & World Report |

More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report

To get more information on one of these comfortable compact and full-size pickup trucks, check out our new car rankings . There, you’ll get everything you need to make an informed buying decision, including standard equipment, starting pricing, fuel economy, available engines and comfort features.

Once you’ve narrowed down your search to the pickup truck that fits your needs, explore our lease deals and purchase deals pages. We update these every month with the latest manufacturer-based incentives. Whether you’re looking to lease or purchase a new truck, these can help you stay on budget.

When you’re ready to get into a new truck, be sure to visit our U.S. News Best Price Program page. It connects shoppers who want to buy or lease a new car with local dealers. It also offers significant savings with pre-negotiated prices, home delivery, and online sales options.

The Most Comfortable Trucks in 2024

• 2024 Nissan Titan: $46,040 | Interior Score: 6.8/10
• 2024 Jeep Gladiator: $37,895 | Interior Score: 7.4/10
• 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: $36,800 | Interior Score: 7.6/10
• 2024 Ford Maverick: $23,815 | Interior Score: 7.6/10
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD: $45,400 | Interior Score: 7.7/10
• 2024 Toyota Tundra: $39,695 | Interior Score: 7.7/10
• 2023 Honda Ridgeline: $38,800 | Interior Score: 7.9/10
• 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD: $46,395 | Interior Score: 8.0/10
• 2024 Ram 2500: $45,250 | Interior Score: 8.1/10
• 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning: $49,995 | Interior Score: 8.4/10
• 2024 Ford F-150: $36,870 | Interior Score: 8.5/10
• 2024 GMC Sierra 1500: $37,700 | Interior Score: 8.6/10
• 2024 Ram 1500: $39,420 | Interior Score: 9.0/10
• 2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty: $43,970 | Interior Score: 9.2/10

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10 Reasons Why The Chevy Silverado High Country Is The Perfect Road Trip Truck

Beyond its roomy cabin and bed, on-board tech, and impressive towing numbers, here's why Silverado makes for an excellent companion for road trips

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is a versatile, capable, and impressive full-size pickup truck. The trims span from a basic Work Truck with only a few creature comforts to the impressive Chevy High Country trim, which packs in the luxury elements to make it the most comfortable version of the Silverado. This top-trim version is the perfect road trip truck for most people to enjoy a fantastic drive over hundreds of miles.

But what exactly makes a truck the perfect road trip truck? When you venture out for some time away from home, you want to spend your days behind the wheel of a vehicle that’s easy to drive, comfortable, filled with advanced tech, and has room for all your gear. The Chevy Silverado High Country easily checks off all these boxes for you.

Using data from Edmunds , Kelley Blue Book , and U. S. News & World Report , we’ve found ten reasons why the Chevy Silverado High Country is the perfect road trip truck.

Related: Top 10 Most Powerful Chevrolets Today

10 The Chevy Silverado High Country Is The Only Trim With Super Cruise

The GM Super Cruise feature began in Cadillac vehicles and has made its way down the market to the Chevrolet Silverado High Country. This top trim of the Silverado is the only trim with Super Cruise . This feature utilizes several advanced safety features and a navigation system with more than 400,000 miles of programmed roadways to enable drivers to travel for several miles using this hands-free feature.

Super Cruise Requires Drivers To Stay Engaged

Using a small camera on the dashboard, the Super Cruise system tracks the driver’s head and eye movement. This system requires you to stay alert and attentive to the drive; if it senses you’re not paying attention, it will deactivate. Thankfully, when it deactivates, the seat vibrates, and the green light bar on the steering wheel blinks and then turns red. The display screen tells you to grab the wheel and take control. Super Cruise is hands-free but it does not turn your Chevy Silverado High Country into an autonomous truck.

9 Added Safety Features Make This Silverado More Family-Friendly

When you pay the High Country pickup price, you expect to receive some of the best safety features available in the market. This top trim can be improved with a few features that make driving easier and better, including a head-up display and a rear camera mirror. These items are optional at this top trim, but you’ll have a full package of advanced driver-assist features that come standard in this truck .

Chevy Silverado High Country ADAS Features

• Forward collision warning
• Pedestrian detection
• Lane-keeping assist
• Lane-departure warning
• Low-speed automatic emergency braking
• Following distance indicator
• Automatic high-beam headlights
• Rear seat reminder
• Teen Driver feature
• Adaptive cruise control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Rearview camera
• HD Surround Vision camera
• Rear emergency braking
• Safety Alert driver’s seat

This long list of safety features makes using the Chevy High Country pickup for long road trips. Anytime a driver steps out of line on the road, one of these systems will alert them to adjust their driving for a safe and secure ride.

Related: Upcoming Chevrolet Models To Watch Out For

8 Three Excellent Engine Options With The High Country Trim

Chevy offers three different powertrain options for the Silverado High Country. These engines provide power, fuel economy, and impressive towing capability.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country Powertrains

With three excellent engine options, High Country Chevy truck owners can enjoy the benefits of towing a heavy boat to the lake, pulling a trailer with a prize bull across the country, or carrying plenty of camping gear for fun in the wilderness. The Silverado High Country towing capacity makes this an impressive and capable truck.

7 The Standard Bed Offers Tons of Space For Gear

The Chevy Silverado High Country is available with two different truck beds . This truck is only built with a crew cab, meaning it can be had with either a standard or short bed. The short bed could be perfect for you if you’re more likely to use this Chevy truck for road trips and family outings.

Chevy Silverado High Country Bed Dimensions

Both truck beds can be fitted with covers that essentially turn this rear area of the truck into a large trunk/cargo area. With a hard, lockable cover, your family can feel secure leaving luggage in the bed when you stop during your road trip for a meal.

Related: 2023 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss Review: Duramax Diesel Delights

6 A Crew Cab Build Makes This Chevy Truck a Good Choice For Group Road Trips

The Chevy Silverado High Country has enough room for five people. Like many crew cab trucks , the center front area in the Silverado High Country is a console for storing small items.

Passengers Can Stretch Out On The Rear Seat

Passengers in the rear area of the High Country Chevy truck have 43.4 inches of legroom, which is more than enough to stretch out. This wide and comfortable rear row offers enough room for three adults to fit during a drive. If you’re transporting kids on a road trip during travel sporting events, they’ll love these seats’ comfort and relaxed feeling.

5 Add Comfort To The Mix With a Luxurious High Country Silverado

The Chevy High Country price range starts at $67,495, which is high enough for owners to expect impressive levels of comfort on the road. The Silverado High Country offers a pleasant mix of comfort and ruggedness in the cabin.

Comfort Features In The Chevy High Country

• 10-way power passenger seat with lumbar support
• Drivers-side memory settings for the seat, mirrors, and steering wheel
• Power sunroof
• Heated rear seats
• Dual-zone automatic climate controls
• Heated front seats
• Heated tilt/telescoping steering wheel
• Leather upholstery
• 10-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support

These comfort features make the High Country’s cabin ideal for long road trips. Your family and friends will be pleased to ride with you when it’s time to explore the country and see the sights.

Related: Top 15 Most Luxurious Pickup Trucks

4 Chevy Offers Options That Make This Trim More Road-Trip Friendly

What comes to mind when you think of the challenges of using a pickup truck? If you want to see around a trailer while towing , enjoy easy trailer connection, and more comfortable wheels, the Chevy Silverado High Country has you covered.

Several Camera Views Make Trailering Easier

The Chevy High Country truck features a multiple-view camera system with one remote camera that can be attached to the rear of the trailer, enabling a view behind the trailer. Some have called this the invisible trailer camera, but it makes a lot of sense. Your road trip with a trailer is much better when you have a view of what’s happening around the truck and trailer.

3 The Hitch Guidance System Makes Towing Easier

Part of the High Country pickup price is the addition of features not found on other trims. One of these features is the hitch guidance system with a hitch view. This feature uses a special camera positioned in the tailgate above the trailer hitch that provides guidelines to help you pull your Silverado to the trailer tongue and position it without a spotter. Normally, this is a two-person job, but it can be done with you in the driver’s seat with this impressive tech feature.

Other High Country Features

• Dual exhaust ports
• 20-inch alloy wheels
• All-terrain tires
• Truck-bed camera
• Spray-in Bedliner
• Chrome exhaust tips

These standard items take the Silverado from a very good truck to a luxury ride perfect for long cross-country road trips. In addition to these standard items, a few options are available, including:

• 22-inch wheels
• Head-up display
• Power-retractable side steps
• Rear camera mirror

2 Use the Rear Camera Mirror To See When the Bed Is Loaded High

Most drivers have learned to rely on the rearview camera to see what’s happening in the lane behind them. Unfortunately, when a pickup truck is loaded high above the roofline, this view becomes obscured and requires the driver to focus on the side mirrors. This is where the Rear Camera Mirror comes in.

What Does The Rear Camera Mirror Do?

The Rear Camera Mirror in the High Country Chevy truck displays the view from the rearview camera on the mirror. This allows drivers to continue driving more naturally when transporting a refrigerator or other tall cargo in the bed. Most rearview cameras only show images when in reverse, but the Rear Camera Mirror is made to provide this view at all times.

1 Accessories Are Plentiful, Making The High Country A Great Road Trip Truck

What could make your road trip even better? The Chevy Silverado High Country is the right pickup truck, but this might not be enough. Adding extra features to the mix can improve your truck and driving experience.

Available Truck Accessories

• Trail lights
• Tonneau bed cover
• Truck toolboxes
• Magnetic phone holders
• Rear-seat entertainment packages

The available accessories to make the Chevy High Country the best road trip truck are not limited to this shortlist. Depending on your needs, it’s pretty easy to find items that can make your time on the road more comfortable in this impressive top-level Chevy pickup.

Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!

Pacific Coast

Border to Border

The Road to Nowhere

The Great River Road

Appalachian Trail

Atlantic Coast

The Great Northern

The Oregon Trail

The Loneliest Road

Southern Pacific

Classic American Road Trips

Pacific Coast Highway

Starting at the northwest tip of the United States at Washington’s Olympic National Park and remaining within sight of the ocean all the way south to sunny San Diego, this 1,650-mile, mostly two-lane road trip takes in everything from temperate rainforest to near-desert.

Highlights along the Pacific Coast Route: Olympic National Park (WA), Three Capes Loop (OR), Redwood National Park (CA)

Historic Route 66

The romance of traveling along historic Route 66 from where it starts in Chicago and ends in Los Angeles continues to captivate people around the world. If you’re looking for great displays of neon signs, rusty middle-of-nowhere truck stops, or kitschy Americana, do as the song says and “get your kicks on Route 66.”

Highlights along Route 66: Chicago (IL), Meramec Caverns (MO), Tucumcari (NM), Painted Desert (AZ), Santa Monica (CA)

• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Indigo (Canada)
• Powell's Books
• Apple Books

Running coast-to-coast from San Francisco to Ocean City, Maryland, “The Loneliest Road in America” is a 3,200-mile odyssey from sea to shining sea. US-50 passes through a dozen different states, four state capitals, and the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

Highlights along the Loneliest Road: South Lake Tahoe (CA), Moab (UT), The Million Dollar Highway (CO), Washington D.C.

Following in the footsteps of pilgrims and pioneers, US‑20 takes in a little of everything during its two-lane trek from Oregon’s rugged coast to the glorious sea and sand of Cape Cod.

Highlights along the Oregon Trail: Cannon Beach (OR), Fort Boise (ID), Yellowstone National Park (WY), Mt Rushmore & Carhenge (NE)

Dubbed the Great Northern in memory of the pioneer railroad that parallels the western half of the route, US‑2 is truly the most stunning and unforgettable, not to mention longest, of all the great transcontinental road trips.

Highlights along the Great Northern: Tumwater Canyon (WA), Glacier National Park (MT), Lake Michigan (MI), Acadia National Park (ME)

The Appalachian Trail

This driving route of the Appalachian Trail parallels the epic hike. From the top of New England to the heart of Dixie, it takes you through continuous natural beauty—without the sweat, bugs, or blisters.

Highlights along the Appalachian Trail: Mt. Washington (NH), The Poconos (PA), Shenandoah National Park (VA), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NC)

Old Man River, Father of Waters, “body of a nation,” Big Muddy: By any name, the mighty Mississippi River cuts a mythic figure across the American landscape. Tag along from its headwaters in Minnesota to where it meets the sea in Louisiana via the GRR.

Highlights along the Great River Road: Main Street USA (WI), St. Louis (MO), Natchez Trace Parkway (MS), New Orleans (LA)

Starting at the Statue of Liberty and ending with a drive across the Overseas Highway to free-wheeling Key West, these almost 2,000 miles of roadway run within earshot—if not sight—of the Atlantic Ocean.

Highlights along the Atlantic Coast: The Statue of Liberty (NJ), Assateague Island National Seashore (MD), Savannah (GA), Cocoa Beach (FL)

Starting at Canada’s Jasper National Park, and winding down in the Sonora Desert, this route traverses some of the wildest and most rugged lands imaginable: mighty mountains, glaciated valleys, raging rivers, and two very different deserts.

Highlights along the Border to Border Route: Columbia Icefield (AB), Bitterroot Mountains (MT), The Extraterrestrial Highway (NV), Joshua Forest Parkway (AZ)

Once the only entirely paved route from Canada to “Old Mexico,” US‑83 cuts across America’s heartland and remains a must-do long-distance byway—transnavigating this broad, odd nation without once grazing a conventional tourist destination.

Highlights along the Road to Nowhere: Sitting Bull Memorial (SD), Nebraska Sand Hills (NE), Monument Rocks (KS), Paint Rock Pictographs (TX)

Following old US-80 and its contemporary equivalents takes you through more varied cultural and physical landscapes than you’ll find along any other cross-country route. From deserts to bayou swamps and Tex-Mex to barbecue, this route offers a full-flavored taste of America.

Highlights along Southern Pacific: The Desert View Tower (CA), Tombstone (AZ), Roswell (NM), Civil Rights Movement National Historic Trail (AL)

Our car experts choose every product we feature. We may earn money from the links on this page.

Road Trip Essentials: The Best Tech and Gadgets, According to Experts

The experts at Good Housekeeping have tested and reviewed some of the best travel electronics and tech gadgets on the market. Here are some of the picks that will make your next road trip more memorable.

More Road Trip Gear: Best Driving Sunglasses | Best Travel Luggage | Road Trip Toolbox

Our Top Picks

Best Travel Portable Coffee Maker

Cera+ portable electric coffee maker.

Best Travel Wi-Fi Hotspot

Verizon mifi 6620l jetpack 4g lte mobile hotspot.

Best Travel Dash Cam

Garmin dash cam 57.

Best Travel Gadget Cooler

Koolatron thermoelectric iceless cooler and warmer.

Best Travel Gadget Radar Detector

Escort max 360 mkii radar and laser detector.

Best Travel Action Camera

Gopro hero9.

Best Travel Electronics Organizer

Bubm electronics organizer.

Best Travel Gadget for Portable Power

Anker 325 power bank.

Best Travel Gadget Charging Cord

Rolling square keychain charger cable.

Best Travel Mug

Ember travel mug.

We all have our own ideas about what tech we need and which gadgets and devices we enjoy, so the Gear Team could have simply thrown together a list of some of our favorites. But Good Housekeeping has been testing and evaluating products for over a century, and its testing has become an industry standard. So we hit up our colleagues over at the Good Housekeeping Institute to make sure we weren't missing anything.

Relying on the expertise of the Gear Team and the testing acumen of Good Housekeeping, here are some of the Best Travel Gadgets and Tech for your next road-trip adventure.

Note: Road & Track has paraphrased Good Housekeeping 's findings to reflect our purposes here; we have omitted some of the Institute's non-automotive selections and included other products more suited for our car-loving audience.

The Best Road Trip Gadgets & Tech

Don't settle for whatever truck-stop cup of joe you come across while on the road. The CERA+ portable coffee maker will allow you to indulge your inner coffee snob wherever you are. It can perform cold or warm brews, and its rechargeable battery allows you to make several cups, no matter the type of coffee you choose.

Wi-Fi on your road trip can be a game changer. For those who lack the luxury of integrated Wi-Fi found on many newer cars, the Jetpack allows Verizon customers to connect up to 15 devices to their personal Wi-Fi network in more than 200 countries. During Good Housekeeping’s testing, the battery showed impressive all-day life. As a plus, it includes an extra USB port for charging other devices.

Dash cams can be a fantastic tool for recovering damages, beating tickets, or recording incredible situations. The Garmin 57 mini dash cam takes the functionality up a notch with a Swiss Army knife–like list of features. It can record in 1440p and features incident detection, forward-collision and lane-departure warnings, and a cool option that lets you turn hours of driving into a time-lapse video. Best of all, it measures just about 1.0 by 2.0 inches.

Staying hydrated and keeping your appetite at bay while on the road can be tough if gas-station jerky and drive-thru fare aren't your thing. Koolatron 's thermoelectric cooler and warmer plugs into your vehicle's 12-volt outlet and keeps the contents as cool as 40 degrees Fahrenheit and as warm as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The 18-quart version can hold up to 23 standard soft-drink cans; the much larger 45-quart version is ideal for families.

Even if you don't consider yourself much of a speeder, having an additional layer of protection against hefty fines is a wise move. The Escort MAX 360 will keep you covered, just in case you lose track of your speed over hours of cruising. It's loaded with features, including dual antennas for increased range, 360-degree awareness, an easy-to-use app, and many more we don't have the space to list here.

GoPro has been offering compact action cameras since 2004, and the HERO9 is perfect for road-tripping. It's durable and waterproof up to 33 feet, allowing you to take it with you just about anywhere. It shoots in 5K so you're guaranteed sharp, high-quality memories once your trip is over. GoPro also offers an array of accessories for attaching it to a helmet, your chest, your car—even a toddler.

Keep your wires and other small gear organized with this neat-looking organizer from BUBM . It comes in ten different colors, and the testers at Good Housekeeping loved the compact fold-flat shape and zipper enclosures.

Charging ports can be a point of contention in cars and trucks, particularly when a family is on the road for extended periods. This Anker portable battery will help nip back-seat fisticuffs in the bud. The 20,000 mAh Li-ion battery allows you to charge up to two devices at a time via dual USB-A ports, and it can be recharged through either its micro-USB or USB-C ports.

Rolling Square's keychain charger is the perfect accessory to keep alongside your keys or in your glovebox. It offers multiple outputs and inputs including USB-C, USB-A, micro-USB, and even a lightning port for your iPhone. It complements the Anker portable battery above very nicely.

When you're on the road for hours on end, a warm beverage can be key in getting your body's motor started and keeping it going. This travel mug from Ember won't just keep your beverage warm, it will keep it exactly the temperature you prefer. The temperature can be controlled from an app on your phone, and its two-hour battery life can be extended by placing it on its charging coaster.

Apple AirTag

Many are already familiar with the invaluable functionality that Apple 's tiny tracker provides. It can be used to track anything from your valuables to your luggage and even your car, right from your phone. It does require you to use Apple's digital ecosystem, but its overall functionality could just be enough to convert Android users. Its one-year battery lifespan makes it an easy set-and-forget tool.

JACO ElitePro Digital Tire Pressure Gauge

Before and after long drives, it's important to keep tabs on your tires, as they are the only thing keeping you and your family on the road. Investing in a quality tire pressure gauge is key, especially if you drive an older car that doesn't come equipped with a tire-pressure monitoring system. JACO 's gauge is calibrated accurately to professional ANSI 2A standards and offers a full lifetime warranty.

Leatherman Wave Plus Multitool

If you don't already carry a good multitool, it's about time you do. The Wave Plus from Leatherman is a handy everyday tool for popping bottle tops, tightening screws, opening packaging, and a plethora of other odd jobs. Out on the road, it's great for small inconveniences and quick fixes, such as replacing burnt-out bulbs, tightening hose clamps, or whatever other mishaps may arise.

DJI Mini 3 Pro Drone Bundle

This DJI camera drone will elevate your ability to log your road-trip memories. When you're no longer limited to the ground, the photo and video opportunities you'll realize are pretty vast. The GH Institute testers loved that it can fold away into a compact carrying case and lauded its sharp picture quality. The included Fly More Kit opens up the potential to capture professional-quality aerial shots of your car ripping through the twisties. It includes spare batteries, chargers, parts, and more.

DJI Osmo Mobile 6 Gimbal Stabilizer

The DJI Osmo gimbal is a nice piece of kit to keep handy if you’re even remotely serious about capturing solid images of you and your flock while out on the road. Even if you're solo-tripping, it's an excellent way to capture photos or videos of your car in action. During testing, the gimbal held the phone stable and has a nice feature that allows it to rotate in a single sweeping motion. The magnetic clamp attaches easily to almost any phone.

Reliefband Classic Wristband for Motion Sickness

Lots of us are burdened with the unfortunate affliction known as carsickness. This can get pretty messy on long drives, particularly if you have little ones prone to nausea. The Reliefband is a drug-free remedy to general motion sickness. If it really works—and most users claim it does—it's definitely worth it.

Bose QuietComfort OverEar Headphones

If you plan to spend many hours in a packed car, you will inevitably be met with conflict when everyone disagrees on what to fill your collective ears with. These noise-canceling cans from Bose provide a convenient solution, allowing your passengers to escape to their own audio reality for a bit. Testers found them very comfortable over extended periods and really appreciated being able to switch between Quiet and Aware modes to filter outside noise.

Caveat: No matter how tempting it may be to drown out the world around you, and despite settings that allow you to control ambient noise, we don't recommend over-ear cans like these while driving. Opt for a pair of AirPods or earbuds , if you must—but be advised, state laws vary on their use behind the wheel.

How do I determine which items are essential to my trip?

A good rule, particularly with gadgets, is if you can't name around two-thirds of the buttons on your device, you probably won't use it (or at least to its fullest potential). Carry only what you might need and use.

I'm new to road-tripping. Will all these gadgets be daunting?

Some gadgets like a DJI drone can indeed have somewhat steep learning curves. We recommend trying out your gadgets at home to familiarize yourself with their features and controls. Apps are a requirement for some gadgets, so having those pre-loaded onto your phone can save time and hassle.

Can I buy stuff on the road?

Lots of gear can be a hassle to keep track of, so sometimes it is more efficient to forgo some of the less essential pieces and just pick them up as you need them. Rechargeable electronics are a great solution—they keep working and alleviate the need to carry around or purchase extra batteries.

Why Trust Good Housekeeping ?

The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing products and providing expert reviews and advice on all types of travel gear in their labs, from luggage trackers and noise-canceling headphones to drones and mobile hotspots. The gadgets chosen for this list were evaluated by product testing analyst Selina Tedesco and updated by media and tech reviews analyst Olivia Lipski .

Why Trust Hearst Autos?

Hearst Autos combines the talent, resources, and expertise of three of the largest, most influential automotive publications in the world. We get our hands on each and every product we test. Most are purchased; some are supplied by manufacturers. If we're unable to test a product or category ourselves, we'll sometimes turn to noted experts such as the Good Housekeeping Institute .

Hearst Autos doesn't need to game SEO algorithms for traffic or promote lousy products to earn a buck. We're far more concerned with our legacy, our reputation, and the trust that our readers have in Autoweek , Car and Driver , and Road & Track to deliver honest opinions and expert evaluations. Read more about our product testing and evaluation process here .

The Assistant Commerce Editor for Hearst Autos, Justin Helton is an enthusiast with a passion for heavily depreciated autos and a penchant for philosophical debate. As a lifelong Manhattanite, he has mastered the ins and outs of classic car ownership in one of the least car-friendly cities in the world.

Rachel Rothman was the chief technologist and executive technical director of the Good Housekeeping Institute for over 15 years , overseeing testing methodology, implementation and reporting for all GH Labs. She also managed GH's research division and the analysis of applicants for the GH Seal and all other testing emblems. 

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23 Incredible Road Trips in the U.S.

Whether you’re looking for sweeping views of the pacific ocean or a multiday adventure through national parks, these road trips provide plenty of opportunities to explore the united states..

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Glacier National Park is one of many scenic places you can visit on an American road trip.

Photo by Zack Frank / Shutterstock

In a country as large as the United States, there’s no shortage of destinations and detours to explore by car . Whether your idea of the perfect American road trip entails an epic, cross-country journey or a shorter jaunt through a few of its most iconic national parks , your options are as large and varied as the country itself.

Even if you don’t have the time to drive cross-country, there are plenty of road trip routes (ranging from three days to a week or longer): classic California itineraries , New England routes that shine especially well in the fall, scenic East Coast adventures, and a variety of Midwest journeys for folks farther from the coasts.

No matter your mode of transportation—be it van, RV, motorcycle, or four-door sedan—these are 21 of the best road trips in the nation to consider.

Plan your next Route 66 trip around thirst-quenching stops.

Photo by Peek Creative Collective/Shutterstock

There are many ways to do a cross-country road trip in the USA, but these two itineraries will take you through some truly iconic American places.

1. Chicago to Los Angeles: A Whiskey Road Trip on Route 66

It doesn’t get more American than a 2,000-mile drive along the entirety of Route 66. There are endless ways to take this legendary trip (including an EV version —but to take your cross-country road trip to the next level, we recommend exploring another American pastime: whiskey.

Starting in Chicago and ending in L.A., you’ll stop by some of the leading craft distilleries in the United States, like Few Spirits in Chicago, Still 630 in St. Louis, and Red Fork Distillery in Tulsa. In between tastings, make time for detours to natural attractions, like the Grand Canyon, and quirky roadside curiosities, like Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. Just remember to drink responsibly—this is a road trip after all.

Plan your trip

The full itinerary: Put a New Twist on Route 66—Make It an American Whiskey Road Trip

No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island, so you need to park before taking the ferry to this spot.

Photo from Shutterstock

2. Bangor, Maine, to Seattle, Washington: The Great Northern on U.S. Route 2

Covering both the U.S. and Canada, a cross-country trip along U.S. 2 is ideal for anyone who wants to experience the vast diversity and expansiveness of North America. This drive runs the entire top border of the U.S. and showcases otherworldly natural wonders like Acadia National Park in Maine, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, and Mackinac Island in Michigan. The route also passes through Canada, taking road-trippers through Ontario into Quebec—this route may focus on nature, but you won’t want to miss a stop in Montreal or Ottawa.

You’ll also get to explore Montana and Glacier National Park ( reservations may be required ) before passing the Columbia Plateau and ending in the Pacific Northwest’s largest city, Seattle. Don’t miss spending time in the Olympic Peninsula (home to Olympic National Park) for a peek at one of the most scenic places on the West Coast.

3. Dana Point to San Francisco: Driving California’s Pacific Coast Highway

The seemingly endless views of the Pacific Ocean along Highway 1 (also known as the Pacific Coast Highway) are what road trip dreams are made of, and exactly what makes this California road trip so popular. However, with so many stops along the 655-mile stretch, we pulled together a list of the ones well worth pulling over to view. Don’t miss the perfect surfing waves in Santa Cruz, seasonal cuisine in Malibu, an afternoon a the boardwalk in Santa Monica, or a night in Big Sur as you drive between Dana Point (just south of Los Angeles) and San Francisco.

• The full itinerary: The Best Stops for a Road Trip on the Pacific Coast Highway
• The AFAR Guide to San Francisco

The seaside town of Monterey was the setting for John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row .

Photo by Denise Lett/Shutterstock

4. Big Sur to Mono County: A Literary Road Trip Through Northern California

Yes, this itinerary requires you actually put down your book to drive, but seeing some of the pivotal places that shaped American authors will be so worth it. Follow in the footsteps of writers like Jack Kerouac, Maya Angelou, and Amy Tan on this road trip that takes you through literary landmarks in Northern California, such as Caffe Trieste, a meeting place for Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Alan Watts, and other bohemian writers and thinkers. This 12-stop itinerary is perfect if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area because you’ll be able to stay make these trips in one or two days.

The full itinerary: The California Road Trip All Book Lovers Should Take

Arizona may take its nickname from the Grand Canyon, but the state has far more natural wonders than just that one.

Courtesy of Shutterstock

5. Phoenix to the Grand Canyon: An Iconic Arizona Road Trip

This 240-mile Arizona road trip takes travelers along some of the state’s most iconic highlights, including its most famous one, the Grand Canyon. A great itinerary for first-time visitors and returning travelers alike, it offers plenty of opportunities for scenic drives, hiking, and biking—as well as tasty food along the way. Hike the 2,704-foot-tall Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale or take in the beautiful red rocks of Sedona on a hike to Cathedral Rock while exploring the Grand Canyon State.

• The full itinerary: The Classic 5-Day Arizona Road Trip
• Grand Canyon guide: The First-Timer’s Guide to the Grand Canyon
• Where to eat in Phoenix: A Chef’s Guide to the Best Restaurants
• Where to stay: The Best Hotels in Arizona ; The Best Airbnbs in Sedona

The Delicate Arch living up to its name in Utah’s Arches National Park

Photo by tusharkoley / Shutterstock

6. Zion to Grand Canyon: A National Parks Road Trip in the Southwest

If you’re looking to visit as many national parks as possible in one road trip, this southwestern itinerary is for you. This journey through Utah and Arizona lets you hike Angel’s Landing in Zion, feel tiny under Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, explore Fairyland Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon, and, of course, raft down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Most visitors to the Grand Canyon remain on the rim, but take at least four days to venture within the canyon and take advantage of the trails and river rafting.

• The full itinerary: The Ideal Road Trip Through U.S. National Parks
• Utah’s 8 Best National Parks and Monuments
• 10 Best National Parks and Monuments in Arizona
• The First-Timer’s Guide to the Grand Canyon

Stop and admire the winding roads of the San Juan Skyway.

Photo by Anh Luu/Shutterstock

7. San Juan Scenic Skyway Road Trip: An Adventure Through Southwestern Colorado

This Colorado trip takes you along the 232-mile loop of the San Juan Scenic Skyway, where you will see plenty of alpine forests, mining towns, and craggy peaks. And for anyone looking to enjoy refreshments after a long day of driving, this route features many opportunities to stop at some of the best breweries in Colorado , such as Ska Brewing Co. in Durango.

• The full itinerary: The Ultimate Southwestern Colorado Road Trip
• Five Classic Colorado Road Trips To Take This Year

In small-town Buena Vista, the riverfront Surf Hotel offers front-row seats to Colorado-style adventure seekers.

Courtesy of the Surf Hotel

8. Denver to Montrose: A 420-Mile Road Trip Through Colorado

Want to explore even more of the Centennial State? Head out on this weeklong road trip where you can fish for salmon in Colorado’s largest reservoir, visit numerous small towns, like Paonia and Crawford, with thriving art scenes along the Colorado Creative Corridor , and explore Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, one of the least visited national parks in the nation.

• The full itinerary: Art Stars, High-Altitude Wines, and a Remote National Park: The Ultimate Colorado Road Trip
• Where to stay: The Best Hotels in Colorado
• The AFAR Guide to Denver

Portland may be Oregon’s largest city, but with a population of some 652,000 (or 2.5 million in the larger metropolitan area), it isn’t intimidatingly large.

Photo courtesy of Travel Portland

9. Portland to Astoria: An Oregon Coast Road Trip for Outdoor Lovers

If you love the outdoors, then this six-day road trip along the coast of Oregon is for you. After driving to Coos Bay from Portland, travelers will meander along Oregon’s dramatic, rocky coastline, discovering some quintessentially Pacific Northwest vistas along the way: evergreen forests, seaside dunes, and marine ecosystems. Between stops, there are ample opportunities to stretch your legs hiking, kayaking, or strolling around the region’s small towns—like the historic old town in Florence.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Oregon road trip without a stop (or three) at a craft brewery, such as Fort George Brewery in Astoria, or cozy coffee shop, like Bread & Roses in Yachats.

• The full itinerary: An Outdoor Lover’s Road Trip on the Oregon Coast
• The AFAR Guide to Portland

The State Capitol Building in Nashville marks the end of this road (trip).

Photo by photo.ua / Shutterstock

10. Seneca Falls, New York, to Nashville, Tennessee: Follow the Path of the Women’s Suffrage Movement

Starting in New York’s Finger Lakes region and ending at the State Capitol Building in Nashville, this road trip traces the route of the national women’s suffrage movement. Highlights include stops at the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House ; Union Square in New York City, which was the site of the first suffrage march; and the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C.

• The full itinerary: Celebrate Women’s Suffrage on an Epic, Self-Guided Road Trip
• Where to stay: The Best Hotels in Nashville
• The AFAR Guide to Nashville
• The AFAR Guide to Washington, D.C.

Asheville is one must-stop on a North Carolina road trip.

Courtesy of ExploreAsheville.com

11. Charlottesville to Asheville: A Scenic Road Trip Through Virginia and North Carolina

The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in the country. Beginning in the soft hilly meadows of the Appalachian Mountains from Shenandoah National Park down into the Blue Ridge Mountains, then into the Great Smoky Mountains, this five-day road trip is best done at a slower pace, which is perfect for admiring the dramatic outlooks and green plateaus. This eclectic itinerary features stops at an art museum, a dairy farm, and plenty of hiking trails.

• The full itinerary: The Ultimate Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip
• Where to stay: 12 Dreamy Blue Ridge Mountain Cabins You Can Rent on Airbnb and Vrbo
• 8 U.S. National Park Road Trips to Take in Your Lifetime

Dowa:kwe dance group from Zuni Pueblo in 2019

Courtesy of Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

12. Albuquerque to Las Cruces: Discover New Mexico on This Three-Day Road Trip

This route steers you away from New Mexican tourist hot spots like Taos and Santa Fe and instead takes you on a three-day adventure with places that teach you about Pueblo history. You’ll stop at Indian Pueblo Kitchen (formerly known as Pueblo Harvest), a restaurant inside the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center that features Indigenous cuisine ; pick up peppers at Three Brothers in Hatch; and slide down the dunes in White Sands National Park.

• The full itinerary: This New Mexico Road Trip Is the Perfect Introduction to the Land of Enchantment

Historic Fort Martin Scott is one of the places travelers can visit to learn about Fredericksburg’s history.

Photo by Mark König/Unsplash

13. A Five-Day Scenic Road Trip Through Texas Hill Country

This Texas road trip starts and ends in San Antonio with stops in small towns like Bandera, Boerne, and consider a stop in Fredericksburg, which is one of AFAR’s best places to go in 2024 ). Over five days, you’ll find opportunities to stroll in a Japanese tea garden in San Antonio, relax along the Sabinal and Frio Rivers by inner tube, and eat as many tacos as you want. Seriously: You could eat tacos for every meal on this road trip and not get tired of them.

• The full itinerary: Tree Houses, Tubing, and Tacos: The Ultimate Texas Hill Country Road Trip

Mount McKinley looms large on a drive through Denali National Park.

Photo by warnsweet / Shutterstock

14. A Weeklong Road Trip Through Alaska’s Most Majestic Sights

This weeklong drive in Alaska starts and ends in Anchorage. You travel along four scenic byways; explore Wrangell–St. Elias wilderness, the largest U.S. national park; catch sight of Denali, the tallest peak in North America; and enjoy the surprisingly stellar food scene of McCarthy, a one-road town with only a couple dozen residents.

• The full itinerary: Glaciers, Mountain Peaks, and Organic Farms: The Ultimate Alaska Road Trip
• Which Alaska National Parks Should You Visit?

More than geothermal pools, Kirkham Hot Springs features a piping-hot waterfall.

Courtesy of Idaho Tourism

15. Boise to Sun Valley: Explore Idaho’s Scenic Byways

Even a short road trip can be packed with adventure, good food, and scenery, which is exactly what this trip from Boise to Sun Valley along Idaho’s Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway offers. Although the drive only takes six hours, we recommend taking a few days to explore all the stops and detours along the way. One can’t-miss spot is the Kirkham Hot Springs , where you can stand under a waterfall that will splash you with 135-degree mineral water year-round.

• The full itinerary: The Little-Known Idaho Road Trip You Need to Drive
• Things to do: The Best Outdoorsy Things to Do in Idaho

Grand Portage State Park is the only state park jointly managed by a state and a Native American band.

Photo by Shutterstock/QZ

16. Duluth to Grand Portage State Park: A Scenic Minnesota Sampler

Although there are many appealing road trips throughout the Midwest, this 143-mile, three-hour circuit, which starts and ends in Duluth, Minnesota, is worth keeping in mind. Meandering north on MN-61 with this itinerary, you will enjoy prime views of Lake Superior and towns like Grand Marais, as well as Grand Portage State Park, home to waterfalls, hiking trails, and opportunities to learn about the Ojibwe community who occupy the land today. Once back in Duluth, enjoy a beer at Canal Park Brewing Company before checking into the waterfront Canal Park Lodge nearby.

• The AFAR Guide to Minnesota

Wind your way through colorful foliage in New Hampshire.

Photo by Shutterstock

17. Kancamagus Highway: A Quintessential New England Drive

Yes, you can take a road trip in New England at any time of the year , but this region shows off its best colors in the fall, when locals and tourists alike head out into the country to view the changing colors of the trees. Join other admirers of fall foliage on this popular, 34.5-mile road trip along New Hampshire’s Kancamagus Highway, colloquially known as the “Kanc,” for picturesque ponds, hiking trails, and scenic overlooks.

• Plan Your Fall Getaway With This Peak Foliage Prediction Map

Ogunquit is home to the small, postcard-perfect harbor of Perkins Cove.

Photo courtesy of QualityHD / Shutterstock

18. Maine’s “Lobster Trail”: Travel Route 1 Along the Coast

Traveling Route 1, affectionately known as “the lobster trail,” along Maine’s jagged coastline is an exercise in indulgence. Sample lobster dishes in all forms—buttered, steamed, on a roll, or even in a decadent mac-and-cheese.

The trip starts in the quaint small town of Ogunquit , with its rare (for the area) 3.5 miles of white-sand beach. Make your first lobster of the journey count, steamed with a side of drawn butter at Barnacle Billy’s in picturesque Perkins Cove harbor. Stop at Big Daddy’s for a cone on your way to the shipbuilding center—and summer home of George H. W. Bush—Kennebunkport. Stay at the recently redesigned 150-year-old classic White Barn Inn , and consider a sailing trip for an afternoon. With lobsters cooked in ocean water, the legendary lobster roll at the Clam Shack is a must.

• 8 Scenic East Coast Road Trips to Take This Year

Throughout North Carolina’s Piedmont region, innovative restaurants, shops, and restaurants like Leah & Louise in Charlotte, above, are creating a buzz.

Photo by Peter Taylor Photography

19. Raleigh to Charlotte: A 4-Day Trip Through North Carolina’s Reinvented Core

North Carolina’s Piedmont region extends from the coastal plain to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and includes farmland and rolling wooded hills, especially on the 1-40 stretch near Hillsborough. Starting in Raleigh, drive the short distances to Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte to see how these cities are innovating through art, food, and a celebration of the past. Take your time—four days should do—to experience downtown arts districts, James Beard Award–winning restaurants, and civil rights museums that speak truths. Plan your trip

• A Road Trip Through North Carolina’s Reinvented Core

Scenic South Walton is part of the Emerald Coast of Florida.

20. Scenic Highway 30A: A Sunday Drive Through South Walton, Florida

Florida is full of places to cruise with the top down, but it’s hard to beat a Sunday (or any day) drive along Scenic Highway 30A through northwest Florida, home to a postcard-perfect stretch of seaside towns known as South Walton.

The roughly 28-mile route through South Walton County kisses the coast for nearly all its length, taking you through gorgeous residential Gulf-front communities like Rosemary Beach, Grayton Beach, and Blue Mountain Beach . Roll down the windows and let the emerald-hued views in.

Pull over to explore, too—maybe to admire the New Urbanism architecture in Alys Beach or to swim in the clear waters at Grayton Beach State Park . (The beach here has been lauded among the best in the world.)

• The full itinerary: The Florida Road Trip You’ve Been Missing

Stand-up paddleboarding is just one way to enjoy a Florida Keys sunset.

Shutterstock

21. The Florida Keys: An Island-Hopping Getaway

For a sunny road trip itinerary in Florida, skip Miami and head farther south. Beginning in Key Largo and ending in Key West, the Florida Keys Scenic Highway is often overlooked for more well-known routes up north, but it is well worth going out of your way to experience.

As the name suggests, this route is very scenic, so plan to spend at least a few days exploring it and numerous stops along the way. Some highlights include driving across the impressive Overseas Highway, stopping to admire art in the town of Islamorada, and enjoying the historic sites, food, and (of course) beaches in the city of Key West.

• The full itinerary: How to Road Trip in the Lesser-Known Florida Keys

Sun Studio in Memphis was the site of the famous Million Dollar recording session that brought together Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.

Photo by f11photo on Shutterstock

22. Memphis to Bristol, Tennessee: A Music-Driven Adventure

If you have about a week to spare and a deep appreciation for music, take a road trip from one side of Tennessee to the other, starting in Memphis and ending in Bristol. The eastbound trip spans genres, including rock ( Graceland ), blues ( Beale Street) and, of course, country (did you really go to Tennessee if you didn’t go to Dollywood ?). Nashville serves as the halfway point on your journey—so consider penciling in an extra 48 hours to fully explore the state capital’s greatest hits.

• The full itinerary: 5 Great American Road Trips For Music Fans

The stunning coastline near Cueva del Indio has been the backdrop of star-studded films.

Photo by Alexsf.gr/Shutterstock

23. Arecibo to Condado, Puerto Rico: A Lesser-Known Side of a Well-Loved Island

In the minds of many, trips to Puerto Rico bring images of stunning beaches , delicious foods , and maybe a bioluminescent bay or two . But there’s plenty of history to be found here, too, as Puerto Rico was home to an Indigenous population known as the Taino, a heritage many Puerto Ricans embrace. That history can be explored via a road trip. Starting in the northern town of Arecibo, travel south to Ponce, then back north to Condado—along the way you’ll encounter petroglyphs, Indigenous sites, and breathtaking natural spots.

• The full itinerary: A Puerto Rico Road Trip That Puts Indigenous Culture First

Additional road trip planning resources Picking the route for your road trip is only one part of your planning. From what snacks to pack to which podcasts to listen to, these additional resources will help you prepare for your next adventure:

• Best road trip snacks
• Road trip planning apps
• Podcasts and audiobooks to download
• What to pack for a road trip

This article originally appeared online in August 2020. It was most recently updated on April 4, 2024, to include current information. Additional reporting by Jessie Beck, Erika Owen, Ray Rogers, Terry Ward, and Sheryl Nance-Nash.

Every Road Trip Car Breakdown Kit Should Include These Tools, According To Our Travel Expert

T here's nothing like taking an epic road trip. It's undeniably a perfect way to travel , especially if you're exploring large countries like the United States. Unfortunately, traveling by car comes with all sorts of problems. Many of the best road trips take you to remote, off-the-beaten-path destinations where you can experience the natural beauty and rugged landscapes, but it also means you'll be far away from any mechanic should something go wrong with your car.

According to data gathered by Agero, more than 69 million cars break down in the United States each year, and an AAA  report  shows that if your car is over 10 years old, you run an even higher risk of car trouble. Nothing ruins an unforgettable road trip vacation like being stranded on the side of the highway for hours while you wait for a tow truck. Even the most seasoned road tripper can face problems if unprepared. With some preparation and planning, you can avoid getting stranded roadside by packing a car breakdown kit.

Nate Murphy, author of the best-selling Van Conversion Guide and founder of DIYhero, a van conversion course , has spent years of his life on extended road trips. In an exclusive interview with Explore, Nate told us everything he recommends, including packing a road trip breakdown kit to get back on the road faster when you run into unfortunate car trouble.

Read more: Safety Items You Should Pack For Your Next Road Trip

Perform Some Basic Vehicle Checks Before You Begin Building Your Tool Kit

Before you begin building your road trip breakdown kit, having your car checked out is a good idea. Going to the mechanic for a trip check is much like going to the doctor for a check-up but on your vehicle. You don't want to wait until something goes wrong to have things checked out. Nate Murphy suggests taking your car to a trusted mechanic before your trip to ensure nothing major is wrong and to help you feel safer on a long-haul road trip.  "If your vehicle is due for a service or has been showing signs of trouble, it's a good idea to address these issues before hitting the road. No one wants to spend half their road trip waiting for a vehicle to get fixed," Nate told Explore.

Even if your car seems okay, Nate recommends doing some basic checks. "This includes checking the oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and windshield washer fluid levels. Additionally, check the condition of the brakes, tires, and lights" he told us. Before you begin purchasing items for your kit, read over your owner's manual because tools can depend on the make, model, and year of your car.

Plan Your Route Ahead Of Time So That You Can Be Prepared For All Types Of Conditions

Nate Murphy has ventured all over on road trips, so he knows what to expect in almost any situation. If you're new to road-tripping or visiting an area for the first time, he suggests doing some research ahead of time so you know what to expect. "Properly consider the weather and road conditions you may face on your trip. If you are traveling through mountainous terrain, or other places where it may snow, be sure to pack snow chains or socks — or appropriate tires," Nate told Explore. 

You should also check that you know how to use everything you bring for your vehicle. Ensure you know how to apply the chains before you leave because "no one wants to be figuring that out in the freezing cold!" he reminded us. Knowing the weather, terrain, and potentially hazardous conditions along your road trip route will ensure you pack everything you need and can make  road trips so much easier. 

Take Care Of Your Tires

Once you're well aware of the condition of your vehicle and the conditions on your road trip route, it's time to start packing the perfect road trip breakdown kit. During his many adventures, Nate discovered that self-sufficiency is vital when traveling. He recommends packing some essential tools to be well-prepared and ensure your trip is stress-free. First, he suggests purchasing a tire foam or tire repair kit to help repair them quickly. "If far away from services, this cheap and lightweight item can be a lifesaver. It is worth checking out how to use them before you go, just in case you do not have data," he told us.

In addition to the tire repair kit, ensure you have a tire pump for when you have a slow leak and need to add air to balance your tire pressure. Some varieties run off your car's battery, and manual pumps are also on the market. Most cars have a spare tire in the back, so pack a four-way lug wrench if you need to change one during your trip. "I would recommend that you learn how to access the spare tire before you go, on some vehicles this is a little more complicated than you may realize," Nate told us.

Prepare For Battery Problems

Chances are, there's probably been a time in your life when you've returned to your vehicle only to find that the engine won't start. Perhaps you were so excited to hit the trails that you unknowingly left your headlights on or something plugged into the vehicle that slowly drained your battery. We've all been there!

According to Nate, "A dead battery, especially in colder weather, is not uncommon." He's right — it's one of the most common car problems. And since batteries are one of the most critical aspects of our car's electrical systems, the vehicle will not turn on without a jump start. Keeping jumper cables in your car is always a good idea, especially on a road trip. Nate recommends keeping cables at least 16 feet in our road trip breakdown kit so that a kind passerby can jump you in a pinch. It will also ensure you're empowered to help other, less prepared road trippers should you run into someone who needs a battery jump during your travels. 

"Again, spend 20 minutes to familiarize yourself with how to properly jumpstart an engine," Nate told us. If you're traveling to a super remote area, consider a 12-volt battery-operated jump starter that allows you to give your car battery the boost it needs without the help of another vehicle. Prices for the portable jump starters start at about $50.

Other Essential Items To Keep In Your Road Trip Car Breakdown Kit

Nate recommends packing a socket wrench set before you head out. Socket wrenches are handy for all repairs, especially if you're familiar with a car engine. "If you know nothing about engines, this might not be so useful — but if you have a bit of an idea, you can fix something before you get to a mechanic," he told Explore. 

Bring a flashlight for car problems at night so you can see what you're working on. A reflective triangle is also helpful for safety during late-night road trips . Duct tape can be beneficial for temporary fixes, and a multi-tool is suitable for all sorts of repairs. Pack a physical map in case your phone unexpectedly dies, or you don't have enough signal to use GPS.

"Lastly, check that you have appropriate breakdown assistance and insurance," Nate told Explore. "A roadside assistance plan can save you thousands if you break down somewhere remote or need a tow." You should call your insurance before you depart and ensure you're covered for your trip, especially if traveling internationally. Adjusting your policy to ensure that you're covered is a good idea. Once you've created your perfect car breakdown kit, it's important that you periodically check that everything is in working order. Some items, like tire repair kits, may expire, so ensure your equipment is up to date before each road trip.

Read the original article on Explore .

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The 11 Best Road Trips in the World

There’s nothing quite like hitting the open road on an epic adventure, especially on these incredible stretches of highway

Heading out the door? Read this article on the Outside app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

I love a good road trip, especially in the mountains of Colorado, where I live. It’s when I do some of the best creative thinking, and it feels like the possibilities for exploration are endless. Should I hike a fourteener tomorrow? Cross the border into Utah to go mountain biking?

I scoured the globe to put together this list of the most stunning drives you could imagine, from the snowcapped peaks of Chilean Patagonia to the windswept west coast of Ireland. I’ve completed a handful, driven parts of many of them, and the rest are on my bucket list. I also chose these road trips for their proximity to adventure, and include essential details like the best hikes, beaches, and accommodations along the way. Buckle up.

The Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean, Canada

Miles: 550 Road terrain: Mostly gravel Best time to go: The Dempster Highway is open year-round, but traditional summer festivals in the Arctic towns and the aurora borealis viewing in winter are seasonal highlights.

Truly rugged and remote, this overland expedition traverses dramatic tundra landscapes, boreal forests, and mountain ranges en route to the Arctic Sea. Begin in the gold-rush outpost of Dawson City, Yukon, and load up on supplies—the unpaved gravel road is a known tire eater, so be sure you have a spare and a four-wheel drive car. From there the Dempster Highway heads north through the historic Klondike region, crosses the Arctic Circle, and enters the Northwest Territories, where you’ll have panoramas of what’s known as the polar Serengeti, a wide-open wilderness teeming with caribou, moose, and grizzlies.

Along the way, you’ll pass through Indigenous communities such as Tsiigehtchic, reached by ferry in summer after the snow melts. If you’re traveling during August, you can watch canoe races and listen to traditional music during Tsiigehtchic’s Canoe Days celebration. By the time you arrive in Inuvik, Canada’s largest community north of the Arctic Circle, you’ll have logged 457 miles. Pitch your tent or park your teardrop at Happy Valley Territorial Park (from $28), perched on a bluff overlooking the Richardson Mountains and the nation’s largest river, the Mackenzie.

Pick up the final stretch of the trip in town, the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway, an 86-mile gravel road that winds past the Pingo Canadian Landmark, a collection of pingo (mounds of earth-covered ice) more than 100 feet high, and ends in the Inuit shorefront hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk.

Scenic Byway 12, Utah

Miles: 122 Road terrain: Paved Best time to go: Early spring and early fall

This expanse of highway connects Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef National Parks , traveling through Dixie National Forest and the northern part of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument. The whole thing could be completed in three hours, but given its proximity to so many perfect playgrounds for hiking, paddling, biking, and fishing, I suggest a four-day road trip. Bookended by Panguitch to the west and Torrey to the east, this designated All-American Road bisects multiple ecosystems,  from sage flats to slickrock deserts, and sleepy rural communities like Boulder, where you should stop for a meal at Hell’s Backbone Grill . The photo opps are endless, but Powell Point Vista, between the towns of Henrieville and Escalante, affords some of the best views of the area’s distinct Wasatch Limestone formations. If I could overnight in one place along the way it’d be Ofland Escalante , which has a drive-in theater, a pool, and a food truck (from $99).

The Romantic Road, Germany

Miles: 220 Road terrain: Paved Best time to go: Spring or fall

Germany’s Romantische Strasse, or Romantic Road, could be the backdrop of a Grimm’s fairy tale, with its turreted and crenelated castles, red-roofed villages, and lake-dotted countryside in the Alpine foothills. This scenic byway across Bavaria connects the baroque town of Würzburg with the pastel-hued town of Füssen. The former is home to the Unesco-designated Würzburg Residence, one of the nation’s most opulent palaces, while Füssen is five minutes from what many consider the route’s highlight, King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle , which was the inspiration for the palace in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty . If you want to stretch your legs, you can tackle the hike to Mount Tegel, located behind the castle, or take the cable car up and explore the trail network at the top.

Along the way you’ll pass plenty of beer gardens—the riverfront Lechgarten in the hamlet of Landsberg am Lech is a must-stop—the vineyards of the Franconia wine region (pick up a bottle of dry, white Silvaner), and spend a few hours rejuvenating in the historic spa town of Bad Mergentheim; at the Best Western Premier Parkhotel ($150), you can take advantage of the indoor pool, spa, and gardens.

The Explorers Way, Australia

Miles: 1,864 Road terrain: Paved (and remember, Aussies drive on the left-hand side) Best time to go: Australia’s fall, March through May The ultimate outback odyssey, the Explorers Way is a road trip through Australia’s Red Centre. Much of the drive follows the Stuart Highway, named after 19th-century explorer John McDouall Stuart, the first European to successfully traverse the continent from south to north. Stuart’s expedition took nearly a year, but two weeks is ample time to complete the journey from Adelaide in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory.

I highly recommend detours to Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park to stand in awe of the 2,831-foot-high monolith sacred to Aboriginals and to Litchfield National Park, teeming with waterfalls and wildlife like dingo and wallaby. Dedicate at least a day to explore the Aboriginal art galleries of Alice Springs, the Northern Territory’s second largest city and the approximate midway point of the route. When you reach the Top End, toast your trip with a bush negroni at Willing Distillery in Darwin or celebrate with a bush safari at Bamurru Plains Eco Lodge (from $2,425, all-inclusive), just northwest of Kakadu National Park, home to more than two dozen walking trails .

Atlantic Road, Norway

Miles: 22 Road terrain: Narrow, paved Best time to go: The coast is most dramatic in September and October

Norway has 18 designated national scenic routes, but the fact that the Atlantic Road was selected as the stage for the James Bond film No Time to Die is a testament to its wow-factor beauty. Officially known as Atlanterhavsvegen , this drive links the village of Kårvåg on Averøy Island with the fishing village of Bud on the mainland via an archipelago connected by eight low-lying bridges. Few roads bring you so close to the ocean: roll down your window and you’ll likely be kissed by sea mist.

Essential detours include the coastal path at Vevang to see Jan Freuchen’s “ Columna Transatlantica ,” a sculpture scattered across the rocks and heath-covered hills, and the glass-walled viewing platform at Askevågen, which affords spectacular mountain and ocean vistas. Strømsholmen Seasport, located between the towns of Kristiansun and Molde, offers scuba diving, fishing excursions, and wildlife safaris on the water. It also has four waterfront cabins that sleep up to ten people (from $55).

The Ring Road, Iceland

Miles: 820 Road terrain: Mostly paved, with some stretches of gravel Best time to go: Late spring or early fall

Stretch after stretch of otherworldly landscapes unfold along this famed 820-mile loop , also known as Route 1. It shows off vast lava fields, tumbling waterfalls, spouting glaciers, and bubbling geysers. You’ll want at least seven days to enjoy all the attractions and adventures along the way, and if you do the drive in May, June, or July, you can take advantage of nearly 24 hours of sun.

Most road-trippers start in the capital, Reykjavík, the city closest to Keflavík International Airport. You can tackle it counterclockwise or clockwise, but if you do the latter first, the scenery crescendos from pretty to jaw-droppingly gorgeous. If there’s one thing you shouldn’t miss, it’s a detour to the northern Troll Peninsula, which loops around the headlands past the end of the Skagafjörður fjord.

On the southeastern coast of Iceland , take time to explore Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon studded with icebergs, and nearby Diamond Beach, named for the brilliant chunks of ice that sparkle like gems against its black sands. The geothermal waters of the Blue Lagoon, just 20 minutes from the airport, are the perfect final stop. Or tack on an adventure—maybe kayak in a glacial lagoon or ride an ATV along the beach—with outfitter Icelandic Mountain Guides .

Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

Miles: 1,600 Road terrain: Narrow, winding, and paved (you’ll also driving on the left-hand side here) Best time to go: summer to take advantage of longer day-light hours

One of the longest coastal routes in the world, the Wild Atlantic Way hugs the Emerald Isle’s rugged and spectacular west coast for miles, from its northern terminus on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal to its southern terminus in the town of Kinsale in County Cork. The route is broken into 14 stages, and you’ll want to budget a minimum of five days to complete it.

There are loads of opportunities to stretch your legs on untouched swaths of beach near soaring sea cliffs. Those at Slieve League jut up 1,972 feet at their highest point; follow the Pilgrim’s Path from Teelin village 1.5 miles to the tops, and after pop into town for lunch. You’ll have plenty of options, but I highly recommend the award-winning Rusty Mackerel pub (rooms are also available from $54). The iconic Cliffs of Moher, in the lunar-like Burren region, are one of the natural treasures of Ireland, with a five-mile (one-way) coastal walk that connects the charming villages of Liscannor and Doolin.

On Achill Island, explore Keel Beach, a nearly two-mile stretch of golden sand. When I visited, the waves were pumping and I rented a board and a thick wetsuit from Soundwave Surf School . If the water’s calm, you can rent a stand-up-paddleboard. If your final destination is County Cork, celebrate with a pint at Levis Corner House , a pub in Ballydehob that’s been run by the same family for a century.

Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, Oregon

Miles: 363 Road terrain: Paved Best time to go: Late spring, early fall, or winter

Most people associate the Pacific Coast Highway, or PCH, with California, but the storied road spans from Canada to Mexico. Some of the best lengths, in my opinion, are in Oregon, where the road skirts virgin beaches, craggy mountains, and rocky coves, through a series of quirky seaside resorts and sleepy fishing villages. You could zip along all of it in 10 to 12 hours, but five days is the better plan, stopping at the many parks and public lands along the route. Ecola State Park (sea stacks, tidepooling, wildlife-watching) and Oregon Dunes Recreation Area (whose sweeping sandy expanses are said to have been the inspiration for Dune’ s planet Arrakis) are both top of my list.

About 30 miles northwest of the city of Bandon is Cape Arago; this short detour off the byway takes you through the South Slough National Estuarine Reserve, home to more than 150 kinds of birds and many good hiking trails . In the town of Coos Bay, I like to overnight at the modern cabins at Bay Point Landing ($235). The next day, you can drive 24 miles east to the remote Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area and hike 1.4 miles to the top of Golden Falls for an eagle’s-eye view of the cascading waterfall and old-growth firs. Schedule your journey for spring and winter and bring your binocs—you can often spot the blows from migrating gray whales as they surface off the coast.

The Garden Route, South Africa

Miles: 124 Road terrain: Paved Best time to go: June to December, when you can spot whales from shore

This ocean-hugging highway showcases the Western Cape’s outrageously beautiful beaches, lush forests, national forests, and abundant marine life. Just under two hours’ drive from Cape Town, the former fishing village of Hermanus Bay is the gateway for the Garden Route. I always stop here to take advantage of the excellent land-based whale-watching between June and December. Continue three and a half hours east on the N2 highway to the harbor town of Mossel Bay, the route’s official starting point. Spend some time trekking around before heading out on your drive; my favorite is the 2.5-mile out-and-back trail from Pinnacle Point to Oyster Bay.

Wilderness National Park , approximately midroute, is a great spot for birdwatching and kayaking and has accommodations that include campsites (from $20), cabins (from $50), and a bed-and-breakfast (from $90). A half-hour farther east is Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed the Saint Tropez of South Africa for its palatial beach homes. Just south is Robberg Nature Reserve , a nice picnic spot where you can observe seal colonies. Spend a day exploring Tsitsikamma National Park , which boasts a 50-mile-long shoreline and an interior with 500-year-old trees. Looking to burn off some energy after hours in the car? I suggest the Otter Trail. South Africa’s oldest hiking trail takes five days to complete and begins near the Garden Route’s eastern terminus at Storms River rest camp.

Queenstown to Milford Sound, New Zealand

Miles: 180 Road terrain: Paved, two-lane highway Best time to go: New Zealand’s fall, March through May, is perfect for hiking Described by Rudyard Kipling as the “eighth wonder of the world,” Milford Sound is big nature on steroids. The drive on the South Island from Queenstown along State Highway 6 (a.k.a. the Southern Scenic Highway) and then State Highway 94 (Milford Sound Highway) will get you there  in just over four hours, but slow down to marvel at the waterfalls and alpine lakes framed by mountains. Te Anau is the halfway point of the drive and an ideal place to overnight, refuel, and stock up on food as there are no services farther en route to the sound. The lakeside town is also the gateway to the glacier-carved wilderness of Fiordland National Park and the jumping-off point for the Milford Track, arguably one of New Zealand’s most famous Great Walks , so consider tacking on a few extra days.

The Carretera Austral, Chile

Miles: 770 Road terrain: Rugged, pock-marked dirt, requiring four-wheel drive Best time to go: Austral spring and summer, November to March  

Waterfalls tumbling from hanging glaciers. Forests of lengua trees and turquoise lagoons. Ancient marble caves and flamingo-filled lakes. The wild backdrop of Chile’s Southern Highway (Route 7) is an adventurer’s fantasy. Also known as the Carretera Austral , this road cuts through remote, mountainous wilderness in northern Patagonia. Set aside at least two weeks so you can take time to visit Queulat National Park and Pumalín National Park , both located along the route.

Puerto Montt, a bustling town in the Chilean Lake District, is your starting point. It’s considered Chile’s seafood capital, so attempt to score a table at Pa Mar Adentro Restaurant and try the caldo curanto , a traditional seafood stew, before starting your journey south.

Coyhaique, the capital of Chile’s Aysén region, marks the route’s midway point. Take a day here to trek the trails of Reserva Nacional Coyhaique, home to two beautiful lakes, Los Sapos and Venus. Campsites are available in the Casa Bruja section of the reserve ($5), or continue a couple hours south to General Carrera Lake and hole up at the family-run  Mallin Colorado Ecolodge ($170). The owners serve terrific farm-to-table meals and partner with local guides who lead kayak trips to the Marble Caves and treks across Exploradores Glacier.

Rumbo Sur Hotel ($190), in the isolated terminus town of Villa O’Higgins, is a comfy final base surrounded by hiking trails and glaciers. A 4×4 is recommended, as most of the road is unpaved.

Outside travel columnist Jen Murphy hates driving but will happily sit shotgun on any road trip. Last fall she navigated on a weeklong mother-daughter road trip through southwest Colorado.

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I Road Tripped Through Southern Ireland for 7 Days, and These Are the 13 Items I Couldn’t Have Done It Without

They're all from Amazon.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more .

Travel + Leisure / Madison Woiten

As an Italian travel writer with Irish citizenship, I recently planned a week-long road trip through southern Ireland to explore my maternal grandfather’s country and connect with my heritage. The road trip included driving through six counties, with nights spent in small fishing villages on the coast, cliffside hikes accompanied by wandering sheep, and mountain-and-lake-framed sheepdog demonstrations. With the weather in constant flux (Ireland could give Boston a run for its money when it comes to capricious weather), plenty of outdoor activities planned, and long hours spent in the car, the trip required the right gear, which I quickly realized can make all of the difference — especially when driving on the opposite side of the road. 

I’ve created a foolproof packing list of my favorite travel essentials from Amazon that made my week-long road trip through southern Ireland a breeze. From rain boots and compression packing cubes to portable tire inflators and water-resistant hiking pants , these 13 products made my trip go off without a hitch, so much so that I’m already planning a second Irish road trip. 

Chelsea Rain Boots

Rain boots generally aren’t known to be the most stylish footwear, but these ultra-affordable Chelsea-style ones from Asgard manage to strike the right balance between functional and fashionable. These were my primary footwear while in Ireland, as they were durable enough to deal with the rain, wind, and mud (which easily came off with a wet wipe), but also nice enough to be worn around towns and cities. However, the best part is how comfortable they are — after walking 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day (every day) for a week, my feet were miraculously blister-free. It’s no wonder that these boots have more than 17,000 five-star rating at Amazon.

Lightweight Puffer Jacket  

My road trip took place in March, which is when Ireland is known to be rainy with mild temperatures — hence why I decided to pack a lightweight, water-resistant puffer. I wanted some degree of insulation, but not to the point of overheating and feeling bogged down. I wore my favorite lightweight puffer jacket from Zara that comes with two large exterior pockets, which are perfect for holding smaller items such as lip balm and my phone. If you're in need of an equally lightweight and high-performing puffer, this best-selling Amazon Essentials one has over 15,000 five-star ratings and should do just the trick. Available in multiple colors with sizes ranging from XS to 6XL, it can pack neatly into a small, handy travel case for easy packing. 

Asia Palomba

Compression Packing Cubes

I’ve never been a believer in compression packing cubes until I came across this Gonex set with more than 5,900 five-star ratings at Amazon. Since I only brought a carry-on suitcase and a personal item for my trip, I needed to make sure that I could pack a week’s worth of bulky clothing between the two — and these compression packing cubes did just the trick. In them, I was able to pack two pairs of pants, one pair of leggings, four long-sleeve shirts, a pair of thermal long johns, two T-shirts, a pair of sleeping shorts, and four sweaters. 

Available in a bundle of four different sizes, ranging from S to XL, they not only easily compressed my thick clothing items, but also left me with plenty of room to pack a pair of hiking boots, a rain poncho, and my toiletry items. Now that I’ve officially been converted into team compression packing cubes , I won't be traveling anywhere without them.

Portable Tire Inflator 

My week-long road trip naturally hinged on having a functioning rental car. As I knew the majority of the roads that I would be driving on would be narrow and at times unpaved, I wanted to make sure that I had a compact, portable tire inflator that could quickly and easily inflate my rental car’s tires. It especially came in handy when driving up the Priest’s Leap, a steep, narrow, and winding mountain pass freckled with cows and sheep. Half-way up the rural pass, all four of my rental car’s tire pressure got low, but this small, mighty device thankfully inflated them within 20 minutes. The tire inflator is compact enough to fit into a personal item, and comes with different valves that can inflate anything from balls to air mattresses, so it’s an especially versatile gadget to have on hand for any road trip.

Ankle-height Hiking Boots

Much of my trip included cliffside hikes and traipsing along mud-soaked fields, which as one can assume, was a fairly messy affair. These Keen hiking boots, which I’ve had for two years, protected me against the rain and mud, even when they were submerged in an ankle-deep puddle (only the tops of my socks, which weren't protected by the boots, were stained). They can be worn in any season thanks to their breathable, waterproof exteriors and light mesh linings. The grip from their high-traction rubber soles, which is great for hiking in damper conditions, has always kept me firmly on the ground, even in the slipperiest of situations. Plus, they come with removable, dual-density EVA footbeds with arch support, so they’re incredibly comfortable and supportive.

Waterproof Hiking Pants

I’ve come to learn that a good pair of waterproof hiking pants can make or break any hiking experience. I’m particularly fond of hiking pants with plenty of pockets, which is why my favorite pair, that I’ve worn everywhere from New Hampshire to Iceland, have four of them. In Ireland, I wore them while hiking alongside cliffs and across fields to not only protect me against the elements, but also dirt, mud, and cow and sheep feces (sheeps are quite literally everywhere in Ireland).

While my favorite pair are no longer sold at Amazon, I’ve been eyeing these affordable lightweight ones from Baleaf for quite some time. The Amazon top-sellers come with four zippered pockets, quick-dry fabric, and adjustable cord locks around the ankle cuffs. Available in a variety of colors, their most attractive feature may just be their tall and petite versions — the latter of which is ideal for me as I always struggle to find pants that fit right.

I first purchased these wool socks last year for a trip to Iceland, and they’ve been keeping my feet warm ever since. Comfortable, well-insulated, and not overly thick, they come in handy when I'm home in Boston; I wear them on a daily basis during the winter to protect against the city’s notoriously frigid wind chills. They’re designed with reinforced yarn in the heels and toes for extra durability and warmth, plus arch compression reinforcement to support any kind of movement regardless of your footwear. 

During my Ireland trip, they saved the day when they went up against the wind and rain, as both my rain and hiking boots weren’t insulated. Woven with spandex fibers, they’re slightly flexible and can be stretched to fit any foot size. For reference, I wear a size 5 shoe and purchased the extra small/small size, which fits me perfectly. 

Rugged Backpack

The Fjallraven Kanken backpack has been my go-to travel backpack for the last eight years. And although it’s been around the world with me and has taken quite a beating since I first purchased it in 2016, the backpack is as sturdy and durable as ever. It may lack some of the flashier organizational features that more contemporary backpacks boast, but its selling features are its compact size, which belies a spacious main compartment, and rugged canvas exterior that can handle everything from spills and rain to mud and wind. It can easily fit up to a 15-inch laptop and a 32-ounce water jug, which makes it a great personal travel item or hiking backpack, which is what I used it for during my trip. 

Thermal Long Johns 

Although the weather in Ireland was fairly mild, there were a few days when the blankets of wind buffeting the coast were downright frigid. When I visited the Cliffs of Moher, for example, the damp wind was throwing me around like a rag doll and cutting through my layers like a knife. Thankfully, I had on a pair of these Thermajane thermal long johns, which I first purchased last year for Iceland, that blocked out the worst of the chill. Lined with soft fleece, they’re ultra-comfortable, warm, and stretchy, so they don’t feel suffocating even when buried beneath other layers. They’re available in a variety of styles, colors, and patterns and have been dubbed Amazon’s best-selling women’s thermal underwear set . But, if that doesn’t convince you, then read through a few of its near-8,000 five-star reviews.

Rain Poncho

Rain in Ireland is a constant, if not somewhat irksome, companion. Over the week-long trip, it wasn't uncommon to experience a drizzle with interspersed sunshine, a torrential downpour, and hail within the same day. For this reason, I purchased a rain poncho so that I could quickly whip it out when the skies opened up. As someone just under 5-foot-1 inches, most of the ponchos I purchased prior were way too big and long for me, which is why I gravitated toward this kids-sized Amazon one ( the brand also has adult sizes ).

With a functional hood and a front zippered pocket, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit and how durable it was after being battered with rain and wind. I bought the 2XL size, which is meant for ages nine to 13 and can fit anyone up to 5 feet 3 inches — a win for fellow shorties like me. Plus, the poncho can easily fold up into a small carrying sack, so it’s ideal for traveling light. 

Small Camera Bag

As I was constantly on the move, I wanted an inconspicuous camera bag that would protect my device while being small enough to wear on my person. It’s roughly the same size as a small pocketbook, which meant that I could wear it while sightseeing without it getting in my way. It comes with an adjustable strap and two mesh side pockets to hold additional gear or accessories. This compact water-resistant carrying case withstood some pretty harsh weather, but didn’t suffer any external wear and tear aside from a few grass stains and flecks of mud. While not all cameras may fit within the bag depending on their make and model, my Fujifilm XT30 fit perfectly and left just enough room for extra batteries and chargers. 

Fleece Sweater

I’ve always been partial to a cozy sweater, and this Amazon quarter-zip fleece pullover is no exception. Lightweight yet warm, this ultra-comfortable and affordable sweater goes well with jeans or hiking pants, so it’s a versatile item to add to your travel closet. It comes in seven colors, including red, gray, and green, with sizes ranging from S to 2XL, and its slightly baggy fit is both cozy and flattering. It’s an item that I plan on bringing with me on future trips, especially when hiking and camping is involved as it’s good for layering purposes.

USB Car Converter 

This light and compact gadget was a boon during the hours spent in the car as I could charge multiple devices at once in between stops. The USB car converter comes with two USB charging ports and two, 110-volt AC outlets that are capable of charging larger devices such as laptops and tablets. I was able to charge my phone, Amazon Kindle, portable tire inflator, and multiple camera batteries at once while driving, so it’s ideal for road trips, especially if you'll be traveling in a group. Small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, it can easily be packed away in a personal item.

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If you’ve got an EV, Google Maps is about to become much more valuable

New updates address one of americans’ top concerns about owning an electric car: finding a place to charge.

Google has announced new features in its Maps app designed to help electric-car drivers find a charge.

The updates include a tool to help drivers find nearby chargers with real-time information about availability and charging speed, the ability to find charging stops on longer road trips and more detailed instructions about how to find chargers within parking lots and garages.

Google expects to start rolling out these features “in the coming months,” according to a blog post. Some will come first to people who drive a car that comes with “Google Built-in,” the company’s driver-assistance software. Google updated its other route-finding app, Waze, with information on EV chargers last month.

The update addresses one of Americans’ top concerns about owning an electric vehicle: finding a place to charge. Range anxiety remains a significant barrier for EV sales — especially for drivers who don’t own a house . Among people who don’t drive an EV, roughly half say they think finding a place to charge would be “extremely” or “very” difficult, according to a 2023 Washington Post-University of Maryland poll .

EVs make up roughly 7 percent of new U.S. car sales, which some experts believe is a tipping point at which electric cars will quickly become popular and take over the market. But lately, the EV market appears to be cooling off . Sales slowed in the first quarter of this year.

In addition to building more charging stations, companies can make driving an EV easier by building apps that help drivers find chargers, said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. “That could be really helpful with mitigating some of those concerns about charging anxiety,” she said.

Find available EV charging stations

For electric-car drivers who need a last-minute charge, Google is developing a feature that can find nearby chargers with updated information about how many ports are available and their charging speed. The company says this feature will eventually be available to all drivers but will be available first for drivers with Google Built-in.

Plan a road trip with EV charging stops

The Maps update will allow EV owners with Google Built-in to plan where they can power up when taking long trips with multiple stops, such as a cross-country road trip. The feature will access information about your car’s battery life to suggest the best places to charge up.

The company also announced a search feature that allows travelers to look for hotels with electric-car chargers.

Locate hard-to-find EV charging stations

Some EV chargers are tucked in hard-to-find corners of parking garages. The Maps updates will crowdsource information from Google reviewers to generate more detailed instructions about how to get to a charger. According to the company’s blog post, the instructions might read something like, “Enter the underground parking lot and follow the signs toward the exit. Just before exiting, turn right.”

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Frequently asked questions.

• You’ll feel the lively spirit of bustling city life the minute you pull into Moscow. Some 35 mi from Elektrostal, it has loads of fantastic spots to visit, like Red Square.
• About 35 mi away, Ryazan is another location worth putting on your travel itinerary. Don’t forget to stop by Monument to Evpatiy Kolovrat during your visit.
• After all that time behind the wheel, treat yourself to a dose of nature at Nikola-Lenivets Art Park. It’s roughly 130 mi from Elektrostal.

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What are some things to do in Elektrostal?

This section could be endless, so rather than trying to suggest every local activity or attraction, we'll leave it open-ended.

Of course, Trippy is the perfect place to ask questions because there's an entire community of travelers talking to each other and sharing tips and advice. Trippy is where you can get answers personalized for your tastes, budgets, trip dates & more!

Click the button below to explore more questions and answers related to Elektrostal.

Do I really have to go back home?

Yes, even this step is optional, because if you're on vacation who wants the trip to end? It's okay, you can start planning your next trip!

Want to plan the trip back? Get the reverse directions for a Elektrostal to Moscow drive , or go to the main page to plan a new road trip .

Looking for ideas for more destinations within driving distance of Moscow? Try searching for places within 1 hour of Moscow .

You can also compare the travel time if you're flying or driving by calculating the distance from Moscow to Elektrostal . Or get a full Moscow to Elektrostal flight plan .

Don't forget about exploring your own hometown with a staycation. You can also find some cool day trips or get away for a weekend.

And if you know Moscow well, please help your fellow travelers and answer their questions about Moscow!

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Spring has sprung – time for a road trip to your favorite destination! Make your dollar go further and save up to 30% off base rates on ALL vehicles when you pay now.* Book by April 18. Pick up April 19 - June 15, 2024. 

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• This offer is available at participating Dollar locations in the U.S. 
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• Offer valid for vehicle pick-up from 4/19/2024 through 6/15/2024.  Subject to availability, blackout periods and additional restrictions. Click here for full terms and conditions.